Witch Trial
by ZashleySilver
Summary: Sharpay has a secret: she's the last witch in all of Salem. But what if someone is trying to get rid of her? What if someone finds out about her secret? R&R! HIATUS
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**Salem, October 31, 1690**

Serena Evans panted as she ran through the forest. She could still hear the shouts from the men chasing her, and every second they sounded a step louder.

Finally, deep into the forest, she came upon her destination. It was a very tiny, one room wooden hut that was hidden behind the tall evergreen trees that surrounded it.

Serena ran up to the door and rapidly knocked on it.

"Leonora! Leonora! Open up, please! It's Serena; please open Leonora PLEASE!" Serena begged, tears running down her dirty cheeks.

The wooden door slowly opened, but no one was right behind it. "Come in, quickly," Serena heard a weak voice say. She obeyed, and shut the door behind her. She slowly walked over to an elder lady sitting in a chair and kneeled down to her.

Lenora was very old, with chalk white skin that was very wrinkled from age. She had hair dark as the night's sky that was wrapped around in a tight bun. She normally had huge red eyes, but they were barely open now. Lenora was dying, and it wasn't good for Serena.

"Serena," she breathed, slowly stroking the young woman's face.

"Lenora, please. They're after me! They want to kill me! Please, you must help me!" Selena pleaded, her big brown eyes screaming fear.

Lenora placed her cold hand onto Serena's. "Serena, I can do nothing. I won't be here much longer."

"No! You can't die! I can't be the last survivor!" Serena said.

"You shall neither be the last survivor." Lenora said. "None of us will. Not for many moons."

"Lenora, I don't quite understand."

"They will take all of us, Serena, whether we like it or not. But in the end, nothing will stop us."

"Lenora, you aren't making sense. If we all die, how will we survive later on?" Serena asked.

"The little one's spirit will come again." Lenora whispered. "But in order for that to happen, you must let it."

"Lenora, why are they killing us off? What have we done to them? All the evil they speak is myth!"

"Mortals are frightened of what they understand not. And that is us. But you can change that, Serena. You are our last hope." Lenora said barely above a whisper, before everything stopped. Her eyes shut completely, her skin colder than ever. Her body was still.

"Lenora," Serena said hoarsely, her eyes swelling with tears. "Lenora come back! I can't do it alone, please! I need you! Lenora!" she cried, gripping onto the non-living woman's hand.

"Come out, Serena!" "You're time has come to an end!" Men shouted into the small wooden hut. They banged on the door loudly, and you could see the flames of torches through the glass window in the middle of the dark night

Serena cringed. She held on tightly to the little bundle of rags in her arms. What was wrapped up inside of them squirmed. Serena looked down to her baby girl's face. She was so innocent; so helpless. She was born only a few short hours ago. But Serena knew she would have a terrible future. That is, if she lived to have a future. She knew she wouldn't be around much longer, and was afraid neither would her kind. The words of Lenora swam in her head.

"You are our last hope." "In the end, nothing will stop us." "The little one's spirit will come again."

Wait, the little one's spirit – her daughter's spirit. Serena gently placed the bundle of blankets in Lenora's lap and jumped up to get Leonora's grand book.

The yells and shouts from outside made her move quickly. The large old book with an old and ragged leather cover was already on the table. All Serena had to do was find the spell in time.

She flipped through the tattered parchment pages until she found what she needed: a very special resurrecting spell.

"Ok," she breathed out, reading the instructions. She went back and picked up her daughter and placed her onto the top of the table, right next to the book. Her daughter giggled as Serena placed her hand just centimeters away from her daughter's heart.

"Doth let the spirit of this child be born again. Let ith be that the first child born on the stroke of midnight on all Hallows Eve in Salem shall have the powers of their ancestors and be the one to bring witches back forth the deathly grave." Serena said in her spell voice. The room shook for a slight moment, but no mortal would have noticed.

Serena took one last look at her daughter. She was smiling a cute new-born smile and was waving her tiny little arms around. Serena began to cry again, knowing even if her spell worked, she wouldn't be able to really see her daughter.

"I love you, Sharpay," she said, kissing her daughter's forehead.

There was a loud slam as the door to the hut was barricaded down. Men with torches and pitchforks scrambled into the room, shouting and yelling. All the noise bothered the baby, so she began to wail.

"That beith the witch's child! It be a witch too!" One man yelled, pointing to the baby wrapped up in blankets.

Men were trying to grab Serena, but managed to get out of their grasp. "NO!" she screamed, running to protect her child. But one man took a wooden spike he had and stabbed it into the baby, which made her holler out in pain before becoming still.

"NO! You BASTARD!" Serena shouted, punching the man square in the face.

"Grab the witch!" someone said. And many men grabbed Serena by her arms and legs so she could not escape. They didn't even bother with Lenora; they knew she was long gone.

All the attackers were walking out of the hut, bringing Serena with them. She took one last look in the hut.

Lenora was still in her chair. It only looked as if she was sleeping. Lenora had been so close to Serena. Serena had no where to go, especially when she learned she was pregnant. So Lenora was with her every step of the way.

But during her pregnancy, a plague was going around. People were learning that so many everyday women were witches, and because humans are scared of difference, they wanted all witches eliminated in Salem. So they went off killing every witch they could. And witches were only in Salem, no where else.

It just so happened that tonight, on the night of Serena's child's birth, Lenora couldn't be there. She had come down with smallpox, and that's why she died. All the other witches had died before today. So Serena and her baby were the only ones left.

Her baby. Serena looked at her child. The steak was in her stomach, and blood was oozing out. Her face looked pained, naturally. But it also looked scared and terrified and longing for her mother. And it would forever stay that way. Tears feel down Serena's face.

"Burn it down," she heard one man say to the other.

"NO! Please, no!" Serena begged.

"Shut up you bitch," the man who was gripping her hands so tight she could no longer feel them spat at her. Serena struggled a bit, but was punished by another man with a hard slap on the face.

The man who had slapped her walked over to the hut and placed some of the flames from his torch onto the wooden floor.

The whole house quickly caught on fire. Serena sobbed and coughed at the sight. She felt so weak; she wanted to just drop to her knees and cry. But the man behind her kicked her in the back of the knee to make her keep going.

"Where are you taking me?" Serena whispered.

"To a place where you will end once and for all, witch." The man behind her, Kenneth she believed his name was, said.

"You don't even understand us," Serena muttered. She received a punch in the back by Kenneth.

Serena didn't utter a word for the rest of the time. Finally, everybody stopped.

"We're here," Kenneth whispered in a sing-song voice in Serena's ear, an evil grin on her face. Serena looked scared out of her wits. They were at the gallows. Kenneth shoved her forward, where another man grabbed her and walked her onto the platform.

He tied itchy, scratchy rope around Serena's wrists so tight that Serena saw blood coming out of her fingernails, he hands whiter than Lenora's skin. Then he got the rope that was dangling next to him and put it around Serena's neck. Then he walked off of the platform to where the lever was.

"You shall all regret this," Serena called, tears still falling. "Witches will come again. You can't kill a witch. We have no reason to die."

"Say goodbye, bitch." One man called to her, causing all the others to snicker.

"That's **witch**," Serena said. The man pulled the lever, and the platform dropped.

And with that, the last witch in Salem died.

**Salem, October 30, 1990**

Amelia Evans was tossing and turning in her sleep. She woke up with a jolt and beads of sweat covering her face. She looked over at the body of her sleeping husband next to her, and began to violently shake him.

"What is it?" he asked sleepily, turning over and rubbing his tired eyes.

"Honey, I think it's time." Amelia said.

Mr. Evans eyes shot right open. "Time? It's time?"

Amelia shook her head quickly. Mr. Evans jumped out of bed and ran into there closet, only to come out a couple of seconds later with a suitcase. He then rushed over to his wife's side and pulled her out of bed, revealing her swollen tummy.

"Oh my GOD!" Amelia panted as her husband walking to their car. She never knew having a kid would be THIS painful.

A couple minutes and a lot of painful shouts later the Evans couple made it to the Salem Community Hospital. Amelia was immediately brought to the delivery room; the doctors all knew she was ready and that this baby was on its way any minute now.

It didn't take long for Amelia to give birth to her first child; a baby girl.

"I'm so proud of you honey," Mr. Evans said. Just as he said that a nurse with a clipboard came in.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" she asked Amelia. Amelia and her husband had discussed many times what they would name their baby. If it was going to be a boy, they'd name him Ryan. If it was going to be a girl, they would name her Rebecca.

"Sharpay," Amelia said suddenly. "Sharpay Serena Evans."

Her husband looked at her. "Hon, I thought if we were going to have a girl we'd name her Rebecca. He looked into his wife's eyes. They seemed different. Normally you could see kindness and love in her large blue eyes. But tonight, nothing was in her eyes; they seemed empty. And he could swear he saw hints of brown in them somewhere.

Amelia looked up at him. "But I like Sharpay," she said in a daydream-like voice. Mr. Evans didn't think she seemed normal. But then he thought it could just be a side effect of having just given birth, and brushed it away.

"Ok," the nurse said, writing it all down. "Sharpay Serena Evans; six pounds, eleven ounces, twenty-one inches, born at 12:00 AM on October 31, 1990."

Little Sharpay opened her eyes for the first time. Her parents immediately noticed her beautiful big brown eyes. They were just like her mother's; her real mothers.

* * *

_Heyy! So here is the prolog (yes I still know that isn't how you really spell prolog, but the English language is seriously starting to bug me) of the story "Witch Trial". And now I've got a couple little notes for you all. _

_A/N 1: My story takes place in Salem, MA. Every character, even the wildcats will have been born in Salem, and that is where East High will be also. It just had to be for the story, to make sense and all. Plus Salem MA is like the witch capital of America. And even though the last time I was there I was 3 and too terrified to got to any witch-related thing, I still know a lot about them. _

_A/N 2: Ryan will not be Sharpay's brother. He will be in the story though. Like he'll be friends with them and be part of the gang or course, but he won't be in any blood relation to Sharpay. So if someone wants to suggest a last name for Ryan that would be wonderful. AND, the person whose name they suggest and I pick will get their own role in the story. So I hope you all send in suggestions!!_

_A/N 3: if there is anything that you don't quite understand about the prolog, or later on any other part of the story, send me a PM or leave it in a review, which ever you prefer. I know sometimes I don't always make sense with the stuff I write (like my spelling and grammar mistakes – sorry about those!) especially with a fantasy story like this with all the magic and what not, I will totally like to explain it to you. The more you understand of the story, more you'll like it and the better it will get._

_A/N 4: please leave TONS of reviews! Not just for this story, but for all my others. Lack of reviews makes me think you guys don't want to keep reading my stories, and brings me down a little. So leave tons of reviews, even if it's constructive criticism. But please KEEP it constructive, and not mean and nasty. _

_Kay, well, that's it! Hope you liked the prolog of "Witch Trial"!!_

_**LOVE, J** _


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

**Salem, October 1, 2008**

Sharpay Evans, now 18, was walking to her bus stop on a cool morning in October. She was waiting for the big ugly yellow bus to come when she felt a pair of hands cover her eyes.

"Guess who?" a voice said. Sharpay smiled. "I'll give you a hint: he's the hottest guy you have ever met and is the best friend you will ever have."

"Joe Jonas!?" Sharpay joked excitedly. The person behind her turned her around, no longer shielding her eyes.

"You think Joe Jonas is hooter than me," Troy Bolton said.

"Did you NEVER see his JoHawk?" Sharpay smiled. Troy pouted. "Aww, did I upset you?" Troy nodded. "I'm sorry Troy-boy."

"Aww, that's ok Sharpie." Troy smirked, pulling her into a hug. "Man, I wish the bus would come."

"Yeah," Sharpay said, put a hand behind her back. "Me too."

Suddenly their bus pulled up to the stop and the doors opened. "Well, look at that." Sharpay said, climbing up the steps. Troy looked totally surprised.

"Did you even see it down the street?" he asked her as they looked for an empty seat.

"Uh, yeah, didn't you?" Sharpay said, sitting down in a seat in the very back.

Troy decided to just brush it off. "So, um, are you gonna join the dance committee? You know, for the Halloween dance?"

"Nah," Sharpay said. "I might not even go to the dance. It's so stupid; they have all these decorations and junk for Halloween, but it's not like we do anything that you'd do on Halloween. It's basically just a dance that got drowned in black and orange crepe paper and balloons."

"You're just mad no one's asked you yet, huh?"

"I'm that obvious?" Sharpay asked sheepishly.

"Well, it's just last year when you went with Kyle Hair you didn't seem so unhappy and moody and…emo about it."

"You think I'm being emo?" Sharpay gasped.

"Well trust me, you look anything BUT emo. Emos don't love to wear pink and giggle and droll over boy bands like the Jonas Brothers." Troy said.

"You won't be teasing me about that when I'm MARRIED to Joe." Sharpay smirked. "And I'll tell you about our honeymoon and it's gonna be hot and steamy and-"

Troy covered her mouth before she could continue. "Please, I am asking you this as your best friend for life: don't ever finish that sentence." Sharpay giggled as Troy removed his hand.

"Ok, but only for you Troy-boy." She said, ruffling his shaggy auburn hair. "So are you, uh, going to the dance?"

"If someone says yes to me…which you know never happens."

"Troy, all of those girls are idiots for always turning you down. But you always manage to go with a girl." Sharpay said positively.

"Yeah, but it's always one of my friends. That means no emotional attachment, no romantic interest, just there to hang out." Troy sighed, looking out a window, not trying to make eye contact.

"Troy, maybe instead of wanting to ask out the hot popular girls who obviously do not like us, you should try for a girl you're comfortable with who there could be some romantic interest with." Sharpay said sincerely. Troy looked back down at her and chuckled.

"You always know how to make me feel better, Pay." He said, putting a muscular arm over her shoulders and giving her a half hug.

By the time the hug ended, the bus pulled up at school. Sharpay jumped up, grabbed Troy's hand, and pulled him off the bus and into school.

"Whoa. Someone a little eager to get in?" Troy asked sarcastically.

"I totally just remembered that today they're posting the drama signup sheets!" Sharpay squealed as she ran through various halls.

Finally she came upon the huge sign up board. She turned to Troy.

"Are you going to sign too?" she asked, taking a pen out of her purse.

"Pay, you know drama isn't my thing. 'Course if you signed up for basketball tryouts, I might consider it."

"Why?"

"Because obviously I'd go to all of your practices to see you in those super tiny shorts you have to wear." Troy said, earning a slap on the arm.

Sharpay giggled. "Nice try, Troysie."

"Ow. Well, can't blame a guy for trying." Troy chuckled.

Sharpay just shook her head and signed her name under the singles signup.

"Hey dude; dudette." Came a voice from behind the two friends. They turned standing there was Chad Danforth and Taylor McKessie.

"You singing up for drama again, Shar?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah. Hopefully I won't get nervous again." Sharpay said, blushing a little bit.

"At least you have the guts to sign up." Chad said. "I'd never be able to go up on that stage, all by myself, seeing tons of people in the audience watching my every single move, almost feeling claustrophobic even, and just as the music began I'd feel so scared I'd hurl right onto the stage!"

Sharpay, her face a little pale, mentally cursed herself for not singing up in erasable pencil, instead of permanent pen. Taylor slapped her boyfriend's head.

"What?" he questioned, rubbing his puffy fro.

"Don't listen to him Pay. You're a terrific singer. Plus, you were in the play last year!" Troy said, trying to make her feel better.

"Troy, I was Girl who Sneezes. I didn't have a real name; I didn't even have real lines! All I did was sneeze!" Sharpay said.

"Well, they were really good sneezes!" Chad said, trying to be optimistic.

"Well maybe you should do it with someone, Shar." Taylor suggested. Sharpay looked around at all of her friends faces. Troy seemed to find his shoes fascinating, Taylor was looking down the hall, and Chad was twirling a piece of his hair. She knew none of them wanted too.

"Just forget it guys," Sharpay said. Chad let out a breath Sharpay didn't even know he was holding. They all started to head towards their lockers. Troy gave Sharpay one last reassuring smile that didn't work a bit, but Sharpay returned it just to please him.

When her friends all left, she looked around to make sure no one was coming or watching her. She looked back at the signup sheet, and her lonely signature on it.

She pointed a finger at the sheet and mumbled something. She sighed happily at what was now written on it, and walked off to her first class just as the bell rang.

Somehow Sharpay managed to make it to lunch without fainting from the thoughts Chad had given her earlier. She walked over to her usual table where Troy, Chad, and Taylor were already sitting at.

"Hey guys." She said casually.

"Hchi charpie wfen ish or ama shinhup?" Chad asked, a mouth full of food as he spoke. Taylor and Sharpay gave him confusing looks.

"He said hi Sharpay, when is your drama signup, duh." Troy said taking a huge bit of his sandwich.

"How could you have possibly understood that?" Taylor asked, dumbfounded.

"Guys can communicate while eating. It's like our secret language." Troy smiled.

"If only your body odors were secret." Kelsi Neilson said as she took a seat next to Taylor. She, Sharpay and Taylor all laughed.

"Hey Kell-Bell." Sharpay said. "Where's Ryan?"

"He said he was signing up for the drama thing, but he'll be here in a few." Kelsi said of her boyfriend Ryan Livingston.

"So you two have any date details?" Taylor asked with a playful smirk.

"Well, we are going to pick out matching costumes for the dance today after school." Kelsi said, blushing.

"We should all do that too." Troy said.

"Do what?" Jason Cross asked as he took a seat next to Sharpay.

"Go on Kelsi and Ryan's date?" Chad asked with a look.

"No you gumball," Sharpay said. "He means we should all go costume shopping."

"But just not today," Kelsi said.

"Yeah, wouldn't want you guys bugging us on our date." Ryan said as he took a seat next to his girlfriend.

"But it's so fun!" Taylor squealed.

"Yeah, because we all love to hear you and Sharpay say "You're the cutest ones!" Jason said, saying the last part in a high pitched girly voice. Sharpay lightly punched his arm.

"Plus I can't go today," Chad said.

"Erin again?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah. She's making me help her with her stupid dance practice today."

"What dance does she do?" Kelsi asked, her fingers intertwined with Ryan's. The question only made Chad blush, but Troy burst out laughing.

"She does ballet!" Troy said in hysterics. Everyone else at their table, aside from Chad of course, started laughing too.

"So you have to go dance ballet with your older sister today?" Taylor asked between giggles.

"Yeah…yuck." Chad said, picturing the scene in his mind, and took an aggressive bite out of his sandwich.

"Aww, Chad, I like your sister." Sharpay said.

"Yeah, us too." Taylor and Kelsi said.

"Well of course _you_ girls do." Jason said.

"What do you mean by that?" Kelsi asked.

"You're girls!" all of the boys said in unison.

"Well you all have had a crush on her at some point in your lives." Sharpay defended.

"And what do you mean by that?" Ryan asked.

"You're all guys!" Sharpay, Kelsi and Taylor all said together.

"Ha, funny Pay." Troy said sarcastically.

"Well Troy I remember when we were like thirteen and you said that Erin was so hot that-" Sharpay couldn't continue because Troy slapped his hand over her mouth.

"What did I say earlier about not finishing sentences?" he muttered to her, but she only giggled. Sharpay kissed the hand that was still on her mouth and Troy released her.

"Your sister is hot, Chad." Ryan said as he took a bit of his sandwich. Kelsi slapped his back and the food flew out of Ryan's mouth and onto his tray.

"Can we all stop talking about my sister?" Chad said irritably.

"Anyway, why don't we go costume shopping tomorrow?" Jason suggested. Everyone agreed.

"Any of you guys have dates yet?" Kelsi asked.

"Nope."

"Nada."

"Negative."

"Not yet."

"And the all classic: no."

"Wow, that sucks." Ryan said.

"Yeah well some of us can't go with our girlfriends," Troy said.

"Or boyfriends," Taylor put in.

"Considering you guys are the only ones of us who do." Chad finished, bringing a strong blush onto Ryan and Kelsi's cheeks.

"Hey," a voice said as someone came up to their table. Everybody turned to see Gabriella Montez smiling in Sharpay's opinion a wicked smile.

"Hi," everyone mumbled weakly. No one in their circle of friends liked Gabriella. she had never been nice to any of them growing up, but had a huge crush on Troy and thought to get to him she had to win over his friends.

"What are you all talking about?" she asked "sweetly."

"Just...stuff." Ryan said.

Gabriella nodded. "Oh, Taylor, I love your headband."

"Um, thank you?" Taylor said unsurely, protectively placing her hand on the silk headband.

"Yeah, it totally takes the attention away from how ratty your hair looks." Gabriella said, still smiling. The guys frowned while Taylor looked a little taken back. Sharpay felt her blood begin to boil. She hated Gabriella Montez more than the idea of Joe Jonas dying. And trust anyone; that was a lot.

"That was rude." Sharpay stated.

"Oh, Sharpay, how would you know rude? Your nose is always way to up in the air to notice what really goes on." Gabriella said. Sharpay stood up, hands clenched into fists. Troy and Jason took hold of her and made here sit back down, knowing she was about to have killed Gabriella.

"So, Troy," Gabriella said flirtatiously. "You have a game coming up?"

"Uh, yeah; next Friday." Troy said, still trying to calm down Sharpay.

"Oh, I can't wait to see you expose those big muscles of yours." She said, sighing a little. Troy held back the vomit that was in the back of his throat.

"Well, it was nice seeing you all." Gabriella said sweetly. "Oh, and Sharpay, I didn't hear that you got sick in the hallway. Maybe you should change out of that shirt. Who wants to stay in a shirt with sick on it all day? Well, ta-ta!" Gabriella skipped off.

Sharpay had had it. No one noticed when her eyes turned red. Jason and Troy had let go of her, and now everyone was watching Gabriella skip away with disgust and anger. Sharpay pretended to be scratched behind her ear, and discreetly pointed at Gabriella.

No one saw the spilled milk on the floor, but it was there in a snap, making Gabriella slip and fall flat on her butt. Then a boy tripped over her, and the big bowl of chocolate pudding that was on his tray fell in the air and landed onto her head. Everyone burst out laughing, drowning out Gabriella's screams of anger.

Sharpay and her friends were probably the loudest of the laughers. Kelsi and Taylor were almost in tears. Jason and Ryan had to hold their stomachs. Chad's fro was bobbing all over the place. Sharpay couldn't keep herself up and hand to hold onto Troy's arm. Gabriella shrieked and ran out of the cafeteria.

"Man, that was sweet!" Jason said high-fiving Ryan.

"Did you see her face?" Taylor giggled.

"That made my day." Troy said.

"You all thought that was FUNNY?" a voice yelled behind them. everyone, even the rest of the kids in the cafeteria, looked to see that it was Zeke, Gabriella's boyfriend. And he was fuming. The cafeteria became pin-drop silent.

"Well…yeah." Sharpay said.

"You know if that happened to anyone of you you'd be pissed like hell!" Zeke shouted.

"Actually, I'd laugh it off." Chad said, all of his friends agreeing and giggling just at the thought.

"Shut up!" Zeke yelled, silencing them again. "Just you guys wait. Gabi's gonna get you all back. Learn to sleep with your eyes open. She's better than you all think." Zeke spat, walking away.

No one in the cafeteria spoke after that. Everyone who watched the scene tried to go back to eating, but it was really awkward. The gang was still looking at the spot where Zeke had basically threatened them.

"Your sister is kind of hot, Chad." Jason said. Everyone around him groaned.

_

* * *

_

Heyy people! So, I updated it! sorry, I would have updated sooner, but I had to figure some things out about this chapter first.

_A/N 1: ok, so I picked xoTroypayxSmitchieFan's last name for Ryan (Livingston) for the story! Which means, she gets her own role in the story. She's Erin, Chad's older sister. Hope you liked that little bit about her. But I want to thank the people who did also contribute last names for him as well. It was tough!!_

_A/N 2: she figured it out! HeSaidSheSaidx (aka Serena) is one of my best friends on FanFiction, and I wanted to give her a little dedication in one of my stories. Also, she contributed like a trillion possible last names for Ryan, lol! So Serena, which is Sharpay's middle name and the witch from the prolog is just for her! But I don't want her to be hung from the gallows or anything like that! but I just loved this girl, and she deserved it!_

_I hoped you all liked this! Tell your friends about this!! R&R!!_

_**LOVE, Jenna**_


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

**Salem, October 1, 2008 (after school)**

"Thanks a lot for coming, guys." Sharpay said as she and her friends walked down the empty school halls.

"Hey, we'd never miss a chance to hear you sing." Kelsi said.

"Plus, you're never nervous when you sing for us," Taylor said. "So maybe you won't get as nervous because we'll be out there."

"Again, I say thanks." Sharpay said, giggling slightly.

"Hey, I'm auditioning too, you know!" Ryan said.

"Yeah, we know. And you're a good actor and dancer, Ry. It's just…" Troy trailed off.

"It's just that Sharpay can kick your ass at singing any day of the week." Chad said truthfully.

"Hey that's…well, yeah." Ryan said, making everyone laugh.

They all reached the auditorium and looked around. There were a lot of kids; more than last year. The gang all took seats in the middle section.

"Welcome, future thespians." Ms. Darbus, the drama teacher, said dramatically as she walked down the isle. "First off, the theater would love to thank you for giving up your free time to try out for what will be the most spectacular musicale that East High, Albuquerque, and New Mexico will ever be blessed to view."

"Someone's sure liking her vodka." Chad whispered. Everyone laughed, but not loud enough for Darbus to hear.

"Now, I shall be calling you up, and you shall sing a section from the song of your own choice." Ms. Darbus took a seat at her private desk and read off of the sing up sheets. "First up, Ryan Livingston!"

"Good luck RyRy," Kelsi said, kissing her boyfriend's cheek. He nodded and walked up on stage. The entire time, his friends were shouting cheers of encouragement quite loudly, drawing attention to them.

Ryan took gave someone a CD with his music on it, and nodded to his friends with a smile.

"This is for my best friends who are so crazy and insane." He said. All of the gang started screaming and making crazy noises. After a couple of glares from Ms. Darbus, they stopped. Finally, his music started.

_--In the middle of the night  
That's when you caught my eye  
I chased you round in memories  
Through the breeze and trees and you tease me  
But hey_

_The clock's turning around  
And you're still playing these games  
It's such a waste to bring me down, down, down  
Don't bring me down cause_

_Hey girl, I wanna catch your wave  
Hey girl, I wanna drift away with you  
Hey girl, you've got an undertow  
Hey girl, hey girl, don't wanna let you go--_

His music ended, and he struck a cocky pose. Everyone cheered; he was pretty good! And of course his best friends were hollering, begging for more.

"Yes, very nice Mr. Livingston." Ms. Darbus said as Ryan got off stage and jogged back to his seat.

"Awesome job man."

"You rocked!"

"That was off the HOOK dude!"

"I had no idea you were** that** good, Ry!"

"Great going, Livingston."

"Aww, Ryan! You sang our song?" Kelsi asked as she hugged her boyfriend.

"Well they said to pick your favorite song." Ryan said, earning a peck on the lips.

"Aw, get a room!" Chad joked, ruffling Ryan's blonde hair.

"Next, we have Gabriella Montez." Ms. Darbus read. You could hear the groans coming from a certain group of people.

But Gabriella just skipped onto the stage and handed a person her CD. She smoothed down the wrinkles in the new outfit she was wearing and smiled brightly down at her drama teacher.

"I will be singing Sneaker Night by Vanessa Hudgens, who happens to be my hero." Gabriella said.

"Didn't that chick post naked pictures of herself on the net?" Taylor asked her friends.

"Oh I saw those; they were HOT!" Chad said, pumping fists with Jason. His expression changed when he saw Taylor's glare. "But she is totally a slut!"

"And I would like to dedicate this to the boy who I love the most: Troy Bolton." Gabriella said, winking at Troy. Troy only made a gagging noise, making Sharpay giggle and Gabriella momentarily frown. But she wiped the frown away when her music started.

_--Put your sneakers on, Put your sneakers on  
We're goin' dancin' all night long_

_I got somewhere to be, I want you to come with me  
See I've put my sneakers on, Cause I'm gonna keep dancin'  
After they all go home_

_So are you ready? Did you eat? Do you have the energy?_

_Are you reloaded? Are you able to stay on your feet?  
Don't want you passing out after a couple hours of beats…  
We're keep going, And going, And going, Yeah, Cause--_

"Okay, Ms. Montez!" Ms. Darbus stopped her before she could even get to the chorus. "Thank you, that's all I needed to hear." Gabriella smiled cheerily and walked off stage.

"And see," Jason said in disgust. Everyone nodded in agreement: seeing Gabriella do stupid choreography and hearing her sing a song about SNEAKERS (which she wasn't even wearing) was way too much for their fragile being to handle.

"Have you ever heard a song like that?" Kelsi asked.

"I hope Gabriella grows up to be just like Vanessa Hudgens." Sharpay said.

"Why? Then she'll end up dating a total hottie like Zac Efron!" Taylor said.

"I feel so bad for that guy," Troy said. "But he does have amazing hair."

"Yeah, but she'll be so horrible all the time that everyone will get so tired of her and see how annoying she is." Sharpay said, causing her two girl friends to grin.

"Ok, our first pair audition;" Ms. Darbus read.

"Hey, why didn't she call you Sharpay?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, for the singles auditions?" Chad asked. Sharpay only shrugged, trying to hide the small nervous smile on her face.

"Sharpay Evans and…Troy Bolton!" Ms. Darbus called. Everyone's eyes went wide and their jaws dropped.

"Troy? I didn't know you were doing it too." Jason said.

"Nice job, Troy. It's good that you wanted to help Sharpay." Taylor said.

"B-but I didn't sign up!" Troy stuttered. He turned to his best friend. "Shar, how did this happen?!"

"I don't know, Troy. All I physically wrote on the signup sheet under singles was my name." She said so it wouldn't technically sound like she was lying.

"Ms. Evans, Mr. Bolton? Get on stage please if you care to audition." Ms. Darbus said.

"Come on Troy, please?" Sharpay asked, giving him sad puppy dog eyes.

"Fine." He said. Sharpay let out a sigh of relief and stood up, pulling Troy with her. "But what are we going to sing?"

"Our song, duh Troysie!" Sharpay said as she handed the guy her CD. She and Troy turned and faced the audience. Lots of students seemed eager to hear the two sing together, considering no one besides Sharpay had ever heard Troy sing before. Their friends were all on the edges of their seats, with encouraging and excited faces. Gabriella didn't know what to think; she was in love with Troy, but hated Sharpay Evans as if there was no tomorrow.

"Uh, Troy and I are going to sing This Is Me from Camp Rock." Sharpay said, taking a deep breath. The music started.

(_Sharpay singing_; **Troy singing**; **_both_**)

_--Do you know what it's like  
To feel so in the dark  
To dream about a life  
Where you're the shining star  
Even though it seems  
Like it's too far away  
I have to believe in myself  
It's the only way_

_This is real, This is me  
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, now  
Gonna let the light, shine on me  
Now I've found, who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I want to be  
This is me_

**You're the voice I hear inside my head  
The reason that I'm singing  
I need to find you, I gotta find you  
You're the missing piece I need  
The song inside of me  
_I need to find you, I gotta find you_**

_This is real, this is me  
__**I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, now  
Gonna let the light, shine on me  
Now I've found, who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I want to be  
**This is me  
_**You're the missing piece I need  
The song inside of me** _(this is me)_  
**You're the voice I hear inside my head  
The reason that I'm singing  
**_**Now I've found, who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I want to be  
This is me--**_

The auditorium was dead silent. Sharpay was only a couple inches away from Troy, who was breathing heavily. A small smile appeared on both of their faces when they heard just about everyone burst into applause.

"Nice job, Troysie." Sharpay whispered.

"You too Sharpie." Troy whispered.

"Very nice, you two." Ms. Darbus said. "I'm…very impressed."

Troy and Sharpay smiled at her and walked off the stage. Sharpay turned to look at Gabriella on the way. Gabriella looked pissed, and stuck her middle finger up before turning around and slumping back down in her seat. Sharpay pointed her finger at Gabriella and sat down in her seat, happy with what she had done.

"Nice going, guys!" Kelsi said.

"Shar, you were fantastic!" Taylor squealed.

"And who knew you could sing, Troy." Chad said, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"I did." Sharpay said, smiling up at her best friend.

"How did you know the song so good Troy?" Ryan asked.

"Well, because Sharpay is set on marrying Joe Jonas, I have seen the Camp Rock movie 374 times." Troy said seriously, making people laugh.

"And we say that that song is our song, so obviously I made him learn the lyrics." Sharpay giggled.

"Well you guys were amazing." Chad said.

"Yeah you'll totally get the best parts." Jason said.

"What is this play anyway?" Taylor asked.

"It's called Diamond View," Sharpay explained. "It's about this rock star with a bad attitude that is sent to live with his relatives across the country. Then he meets this girl and learns all about her struggles. And while she helps him become a better person, he falls in love with her."

"Aww!" Kelsi and Taylor sighed together.

"It sounds like Camp Rock." Ryan said.

"Dude, how would you know the story line for that?" Jason chuckled.

"Hey, I've got a girlfriend who says she'd dump me any day for Kevin Jonas."

"You like Kevin best?" Sharpay asked Kelsi.

"Yeah. I like guys who are a little older; so sue me." Kelsi laughed.

"Well I like Frankie." Taylor said.

"Isn't he like six years old?" Troy asked.

"He just turned eight!" Taylor defended.

"So he's basically ten years younger then you, Taylor." Troy said.

"And you want to marry a boy who's ten years younger than you?" Ryan asked.

"Do I have to explain the whole Demi Ashton thing again to you people?" Taylor sighed.

"Or the Hayden Milo thing." Sharpay put in.

"They're dating?" Kelsi asked.

"Oh yeah; have been for a while now, you didn't know?"

"No!"

"Well how far apart are they?" Jason asked.

"Well Hayden's only 18." Chad said. "A very hot 18 year old, I must say."

"And Milo's in like his thirties." Sharpay said.

"Wow he looks a lot younger than that." Troy said.

"I know, right?" Ryan agreed. "He looks like he's maybe 22 at the oldest."

"He's a totally hot guy in his thirties." Taylor swooned.

"I know, Hayden is such a lucky girl." Kelsi agreed.

"And Milo is one lucky dude." Chad said, picturing Hayden Panettiere. The gang was silent after that as they looked around the auditorium. Everyone had left; the auditions were over. And they had all talked about who knows what during it.

"That was probably the most random conversation we all have ever had." Troy stated.

"Yup." Sharpay said, popping the p.

Chad's cell phone went off then and he flipped it open. "Hello?" You could hear the other person screaming on the other end.

"Jesus, Chad! You the hell is that?" Ryan asked.

"Erin calm down!" Chad said to his sister, answering Ryan's question. "Yes, I know I need to come home…well Sharpay and Troy and Ryan were auditioning for the play…they're my friends and I want to support them, that's why…well I don't care if all your friends are in Reno! If you wanted to be with them so badly, you should have gone too…yes I know you're poor, so am I! You are just the strangest person, I don't see why my friends like you…oh now that's just rude, Erin…whatever…yes I'm coming home, don't have a panic attack…no I am NOT wearing a leotard! Erin don't you-" Chad stopped and looked at his phone. "She hung up on me!"

Chad sighed and stood up. "Well, I need to get going so Erin can yell that my third position looks more like the first. See ya."

"Bye Chad," everyone chorused as their poofy haired friend walked out of the auditorium.

"Yeah, we better be heading out too." Kelsi said as she and her boyfriend stood up.

"Have fun, Kell-bell." Sharpay smiled playfully at her friend, who rolled her eyes.

"Bye guys." Ryan said as he and Kelsi walked out the same way Chad had.

"Hey Shar, call me tonight about that science homework." Taylor said as she too left.

"Thanks Tay-Tay. I love you!" Sharpay called.

"Love you too Pay!" she heard being called.

"And I have to go to hockey practice." Jason said, pumping fists with Troy. "Later guys."

"Bye Jase!"

"See ya man."

That left Troy and Sharpay alone in the empty auditorium.

"Sooo…" Troy trailed off.

"Thanks for singing with me." Sharpay said gratefully.

"Well, it wasn't my original plan, and I still have no freaking idea how my name got on, but it was fun. You were really good, you know." Troy complimented.

"Thanks. You were too. You are a good singer, Troysie." Sharpay said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "So, what happens if we both get parts?"

"I don't know. Especially since I've also got basketball." Troy said.

"Even though you hate it."

"I don't hate it. I just hate how even though I'm a senior and I'm well…not exactly the Golden Boy of the team, no one thinks I'm good. No one, aside from like Chad, think I actually have talent. And Chad has to suffer as well just because he's my friend. That's why we're the only guys on the team that don't have hot babes all around us all the time." Troy confessed. "I just want people to give us a chance. So what if we aren't popular? We're good guys; there isn't anything wrong with us. But just because we aren't at the tippity top of the chain, we aren't worth time."

Sharpay smiled weakly and brushed her hand threw Troy's hair. "Troy Bolton, you are probably the sappiest boy I have ever met."

"Oh, thank you so much." Troy chuckled sarcastically.

"And that's why I love you so much." She said. Troy smiled back down at her.

Thoughts raced through both of their minds; thoughts you wouldn't normally think about your best friend. But everything could be ruined if either of them let these thoughts escape their lips.

"Well, I better get going. Mom and Dad are going out, so I've got to babysit Ellie." Troy said.

"Isn't Ellie 13?" Sharpay asked.

"Yeah, but I'm her bog brother. You know how over protective I get."

"Yeah, I know. You get that way with me, too." Sharpay said, laughing a little. "Yeah, and I'm sure my parents are just waiting for me to come home to do all the chores they don't want to do."

Though both of them had said they were going to leave, they both just continued to sit in their seats, just looking each other over.

"Well, I better go." Sharpay said.

"Yeah, me too." Troy said, standing up and pulling his friend up with him.

"I'll call you tonight." Sharpay said as they walked down the halls together.

"Ok, sure." Troy said. Though they called one another every night, it still brought a smile to their faces when they said that they'd call the other. "So how are you getting home?"

"Oh, I have a ride, don't worry Troy." Sharpay said, her cheeks turning pink.

Oh, well ok," Troy said, seeing his mother's red Jeep pulling up to the curb. "See you later, Sharpie." Troy said, climbing into the passenger's seat.

"Bye Troysie!" Sharpay called as the car drove away. Once it was out of sight, and Sharpay made sure nobody else was around her to see anything, she snapped her fingers.

You could hear a pop sound, and she disappeared.

A pair of eyes hiding behind a bush turned to the size of saucers.

"Holy shit," the person breathed, and ran out of the bush. They didn't know whether to keep what they say to themselves, or to tell people. They decided to keep it hushed up; maybe it was really nothing; their eyes playing tricks.

_At for the sake of Sharpay_, the person thought, _my eyes better be messing with me_.

_

* * *

_

Yayy!! Another chapter's up! Sorry it took a while. Saturday I went to a baseball (hearts!!) game, and Sunday was my aunt's wedding bridal shower.

_A/N 1: sorry for all my Jonas talk. I wanted the gang to kind of talk like my friends and I do, but we talk about the most random things. So that's why they're talking like freaks (although my friends and I are SO not freaks…most of the time.) _

_A/N 2: sorry to Vanessa fans who read the whole thing with her. I don't hate Vanessa…I mean I totally think Ryella and Chadella are friken awesome. But I am, and I'm sure some of my readers as well, are a bit tired of Gabriella being the nice best friend of Sharpay who always supports her being with Troy and even tries to get the together. Come on, you all knew I had to write at least one story where, let's face it, Gabriella is a total bitch. _

_A/N 3: I'm sure you've noticed that nothing in this story is really like the movies. One is that Troy's dad is not the school's basketball coach. And if I somehow put that into the first chapter, I'm sorry! He isn't supposed to be. And also, Troy is not the Golden Boy. In fact, some people don't like him. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own HSM, Catch Your Wave by The Click 5, Sneakernight (totally stupid) by Vanessa Hudgens, or This Is Me/Gotta Find You by Demi Lavato (whoi is kind of getting on my nerves lately) and Joe Jonas (who will be mentioned in my story many times. Sorry, I'm just so in love with the Jonas Brothers. But Nick is SO mine!) _

_Kay, well thanks people!! R&R!!_

**Love, Jenna**


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

**Salem, October 4, 2008**

"Gculs han ou usht puck a shuped plashe sho huop?" Chad asked as he finished the lasted of his double cheeseburger.

"Troy?" Taylor asked, sending a disgusted expression in Chad's direction.

"He wants you girls to just pick a stupid place to shop, and I agree. We've been wandering the mall for hours!"

"Troy, it's been 4 minutes." Sharpay said, rolling her eyes at her best friend.

"Well we're walking off of no energy." Jason said.

"Jase, we just got back from the food court! That's why Chad can't speak human," Taylor pointed at the boy with the afro.

"Does he ever speak human, Tay?" Sharpay said, causing her gal pal to laugh along with her.

"And why you and Troy have food all over your shirts." Taylor said, pointing to the remains of Troy and Jason's lunches soaked into their shirts.

"I wish Kell-Bell was here." Sharpay thought out loud.

"Yeah, but you know they were going on a date today and couldn't come." Taylor said.

"Tell me again **why** we couldn't go costume shopping the day we had planned so that Ryelsi could come with us?" Sharpay asked.

"Ryelsi?" all three of the boys asked.

"Yeah, that's their couple name," Sharpay said with a smile, "you know, like Bradgelina?"

"Or Dashton; Demi Ashton." Taylor put in.

"Or Jorpay." Sharpay swooned.

"Now who's that?" Chad asked, whipping his mouth with the back of his chocolate brown hand.

"Me and Joe, duh." Sharpay laughed.

Troy tolled his eyes. "Can we just pick a store?" Taylor looked over at him with an odd look. He always seemed to act like this when Sharpay mentioned Joe Jonas…or really most other guys.

"How about this one?" Jason suggested, gesturing to a store right in front of them. The window was filled with black crepe paper and black balloons. "Afraid of the Dark" was written in a weird font with red paint that looked like blood. And sitting in the window were realistic skulls.

"I-I don't know about that," Taylor said. Sharpay gave her shoulder a squeeze, knowing her friend didn't like all the scary parts that come with Halloween.

"Let's just get it done so Tay isn't freaked out, guys." Sharpay said. The gang walked into the creepy store and began to browse through isles.

"Hey, Troy, you should totally get this!" Chad called from one isle. Troy put down the Grim Reaper costume he had been holding and walked over to Chad.

"What?" Troy asked.

"THIS!" Chad said excitedly, holding up a giant pink bunny costume.

"What. The. Hell." Troy said, and then started cracking up.

"It comes with a carrot and nose and ears and everything!" Chad said.

"I think I'll pass bro." Troy chuckled.

"Hey, Troy?" Chad asked, hushing his voice. "Do you think you could find out what Taylor's costume will be? I want to you know, maybe surprise her with being like a match with her or something."

"Sure thing man," Troy said, bumping fists with Chad and walking off.

"Taylor, I love this on you!" Sharpay squealed, holding up a princess Jasmine costume to her friend. "And you know how much you love Aladdin."

"Yeah, it is my favorite movie." Taylor said, looking the costume over.

"And you'd look amazing in this, trust me." Sharpay said, twirling a piece of her friend's hair.

"I don't know, Pay." Taylor said as she backed a few steps away, self consciousness abducting her mind.

"Taylor McKessie, you look absolutely amazing in any and everything you where. And you'll look amazing in this costume. I would never make you look bad, Taylor. That's Chad's job."

"Do you think he'd like it?" Taylor whispered to her friend.

Sharpay smiled. "He'll love it, Tay."

"Thanks, Sharpay." Taylor said, hugging her best friend with the costume separating their bodies.

"TAYLOR!" Jason yelled from some where in the story. "Can you help me?"

"Be right there Jase!" Taylor called, leaving Sharpay to find the raven haired boy.

Sharpay smiled and started racking through the costumes.

"Find anything yet?" a voice said behind her. She turned her head to see the cute boy with electric blue eyes.

"Nah. What about you?" she said with a smile.

"I'm stuck between Bart Simpson and Stewie." Troy said, making Sharpay burst into giggles.

"Well I hope your date doesn't end up going as like a greek goddess. Then she so will not be happy."

"Well maybe you could help me then?"

"But Troysie, I still haven't found my own costume."

"Pwetty pwease?" Troy said, making a puppy dog face.

"God why can I never say no to that face." Sharpay sighed. Troy smiled and took her hand in his own.

They walked down the isle, looking for a costume for Troy. Sharpay flipped through costumes in plastic bags while Troy looked through a guide book that listed all available costumes. Sharpay saw a flicker of gold a few costumes down, and looked to see what it was. When she fully saw it, her heart skipped a beat.

"Troy, what about this?" Troy looked up at the sound of her voice. She was holding out an old fashion-looking tux, which had beautiful cuffs and gold buttons and tassels.

"What is it supposed to be?" Troy asked. Sharpay had been admiring it while he checked it out, a longing look in her eyes as she spoke.

"It's a Prince Charming costume."

"I don't know, Pay. Why would I want to dress up like a prince? What girl would like that?"

"Tons! Every girl wants her prince charming."

"Really?" Troy said, walking over and examining the costume, but resumed eye contact with the blonde.

"Yeah. And it's like this costume was made for you."

"I don't think I could make this outfit work, Pay. What makes you think so?"

Sharpay locked eyes with him. "You've always been my prince charming."

A smile played across Troy's lips at how cute this girl was. Sharpay had a small smile as well.

"Aww, just get a stupid Disney movie, will ya?" Chad said, butting in. Sharpay turned around and Troy looked over her shoulder to see their friends watching them.

"Chad!" Taylor said, hitting his shoulder.

"Ow! What? They were getting all mushy!"

"We were not!" Sharpay said, blushing slightly.

"Guys, Disney could not make a more lovey-dovey scene." Jason said, getting his own smack from Taylor.

Troy just tried to chuckle the embarrassing moment away. "So, um, you guys ready to check out?"

"We already did," Chad said, Jason, and Taylor held up a bag from the store.

"Oh, guys, I also need to get a birthday present for Ellie." Troy said.

"What about your costume?" Jason asked.

"I'm getting this," Troy said, taking the costume Sharpay had picked out and held it up to show the others. He felt Sharpay's fingers brush against his own, almost as if she had meant to capture his hand in her own.

"What about you Shar?" Taylor asked.

"I think this year I'll make my own." Sharpay stated. Chad and Jason burst out laughing. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Sharpay, I love you like a sister, maybe even more than my own," Chad said between laughs, "but you don't seem like someone who can make stuff like that. I mean, sewing?"

"Hey I make stuff for you guys all the time. All of your birthday presents for like the first five years together were always hand-made art projects. You all said you love them!"

"We do love them, Sharpay!" Taylor said encouragingly. "These idiots are just high on Playboy."

Jason only continued laughing, this time at Taylor's joke. But Troy joined in the merriment when he saw Chad stop laughing, worry and embarrassment screaming from his melon-sized eyes.

"Whatever. I'm making my own costume," Sharpay said as they all went to the cash register and Troy paid for his outfit, "and I want you guys to give me your absolute honest opinion, ok?"

"Yes, Ms. Evans," Jason and Chad said in a sing-song voice as if they were speaking to a kindergarten teacher.

"So Troy, what are you thinking of getting Ellie?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know. But because she's a…girl, and you and Sharpay are…girls, I was wondering if you could…"

"Yes Troy, we'll help you."

"How old is she going to be?" Jason asked as the group exited the store.

"Thirteen."

"I thought she was turning five," Chad said, very confused.

"Are you like, mentally dysfunctional without food?" Sharpay asked her friend seriously. Chad merely nodded.

"Are there any singers, bands, movies, TV shows, or celebrities that she liked?" Taylor asked Troy.

"Um, yeah. She likes Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus. Did you know they were really the same girl? I only learned that last night!" Troy said in amazement.

"What were you doing last night that had Hannah Montana in it, Troysie?" Sharpay asked, causing everyone else to laugh and the tips of Troy's ears turned red.

"W-well, you see, it's actually a…there was no game on last night, ok?" Troy confessed.

"It's ok, Troy. That chick is SO…TOTALLY not age appropriate for children and should learn not to take those kinds of pictures of herself." Chad said, his original answer being washed away by the look Taylor was giving him.

"Well if she likes Hannah Montana as much as Chad does but hopefully not in that gross sense, then follow me." Sharpay said with Taylor by her side and the boys at their heals.

"Shar!" Jason whined, "are we there yet?"

"You boys complain too much!" Taylor muttered.

"Don't worry, Jase. We're almost-"

Everyone had to stop in their tracks before Sharpay and Taylor almost ran over two other people.

"Oh, sor-" Taylor, being her polite self, was about to say, but didn't dare finish once she saw who they almost ran over.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Gabriella crossed her arms and squinted her eyes at the people in front of her.

"It was an accident," Troy said.

"Oh, I'm not blaming you Troy," Gabriella said, her tone a little more flirtatious then her boyfriend beside her wanted to hear.

"So you're balming us? We didn't even bump into you!" Sharpay said, her blood beginning to boil.

"Um, hello! You were about to knock me into the ground!"

"Gabriella, it was an accident, can we please just keep going?" Zeke asked, placing a hand on his petite girlfriend's shoulder.

"Fine. Seeing all that fake blonde hair is starting to burn my eyes," Gabriella spat.

"Excuse me?" Sharpay said, taking a step closer.

"Sharpay, everyone knows you are so not a real blonde." Gabriella said, inching closer as well.

"Oh, well take a close look, make sure you don't see any brown roots!" Sharpay said, bobbing forward so that all of her hair flew into Gabriella's face.

"EW!"

"Yeah, I can do that, because my hair is naturally that long. Unlike you and your cheap extensions." Sharpay smirked.

"Are you trying to mess with me?" Gabriella hissed.

"I don't need to try at all." Sharpay shot.

"You're all still in for what happened in the cafeteria a few days ago, Evans. Don't think I won't pay you back."

"What makes you think I did that? is it my fault you're clumsy?"

"I know you did it. You better watch your back," Gabriella stepped forward, knocking shoulders with Sharpay, "_Blondie_."

She started strutting past the group of teens, Zeke scurrying behind her and sending a few glares as well, especially to Sharpay.

Sharpay just stood where she was, trying to shake it all off. She wasn't scared of Gabriella; she wasn't the least bit frightened by that girl. She was scared of what she could find out, at any moment. No one had found out her whole eighteen years of life; but that didn't mean someone could figure it out now in the blink of an eye. Of Gabriella wanted, she could figure it all out. She unfortunately had that kind of power. But without that power is what Sharpay always saw in her. And that's why she had no reason to fear Gabriella Montez.

"Um, Troy? I think you'll have to shop for Ellie without us," Taylor said, coming up and wrapping her arms around Sharpay.

"Hey, why don't we all have a sleepover at my house?" Chad offered. He hated to see Sharpay like that.

"Yeah, we'll call up Kels and Ryan." Jason said, sharing the same opinion as Chad.

Troy walked up so that he was face to face with his best friend and began rubbing her shoulders. Sharpay looked up at him, goose bumps now covering her slim tan body.

"You ok, Pay?" he asked.

"Gabriella is going to regret the day she messed with me." Sharpay stated.

"I don't have a doubt in my mind." Troy smiled.

Sharpay smiled as well and Troy enveloped her into a tight hug.

"…Joe Jonas would so never date her."


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

**Salem, Chad's house, October 4, 2008**

"AHH! Chad, STOP!" Taylor squealed to the African American boy.

"No way Taylor!"

"I'm serious! I'm like, blind now!"

"And yet you can still see how hot I am." Chad teased.

"Chad, I think it's time to seize fire." Sharpay said, giggling madly.

"Thank you Sharpay!" Taylor exclaimed, thankful that Chad had stopped throwing popcorn at her for a moment.

"Would you rather I move onto you?" Chad asked the blonde girl.

Sharpay made a face, then turned her attention to Taylor to say "Sorry Tay."

"Thank you Sharpay!" Chad said, mimicking Taylor before going back to mauling her with popped kernels.

"Aren't they adorable?" Sharpay whispered to Kelsi, whose hair Sharpay was currently experimenting with.

"Completely. I don't see why they don't just go out already," Kelsi whispered back; "Chad likes Tay, Tay likes Chad. What's the biggie?"

"The biggie is that Taylor is shy, Chad is full of himself, and no one in this group is allowed to be the best couple aside from me and Kelsi," Ryan butt in, leaning over and kissing his girlfriend's cheek loudly for emphasis. Kelsi giggled and blushed while Sharpay playfully rolled her eyes.

"Ok lovebirds, knock it off." Troy said, throwing a couch pillow at Chad's head. Taylor's cheeks turned pink as she crawled away from Chad and next to Kelsi, but Chad just held his hair and looked at Troy in shook.

"Dude! You _dented_ the fro!"

"Oh, you mean that thing on your head? I always thought a puff ball crawled up there and died." Troy said. Chad threw the pillow back.

"Is a puff ball a real animal?" Kelsi asked, popping a popped kernel in her mouth.

"In Troy's mind, anything can be real." Sharpay said, seeing if Kelsi would look good with a side ponytail.

"You do not believe in the magical animal that is a puff ball?" Troy questioned his best friend dramatically.

"No, because I know it isn't real. You and Jason made it up when we were nine." Sharpay explained, tying Kelsi's auburn hair into two pigtails.

"Then why don't you try playing with Chad's hair instead of Kelsi's?" Jason smirked.

Sharpay glanced at Chad's hair and then looked at Jason as if he were nuts. "I'm not touching a dead puff ball!"

Jason and Troy high-fived each other. "Score one for the puff ball!"

"Ok Kell-Bell, you're all set." Sharpay said, sitting back on the Danforth's living room couch as her friends admired her work.

"Aww, Pay! I love it, thank you!" Kelsi squealed as she looked in Sharpay's mirror, hugging the blonde's legs, which happened to be dangling on either side of her.

"Yeah Shar. You've got a real talent when it comes to hair." Taylor said, twirling one of Kelsi's pigtails.

"Yeah…just not puff balls." Jason said, causing Troy to double over in laughter.

"What is it with you guys and puff balls?" Ryan asked.

"Trust me, you guys do not want to know." Chad said, taking the mirror away from Kelsi to see if he could fix his own hair.

"I'm going to get us more snacks," Sharpay said, standing up and heading towards the kitchen. "But none for you two." He pointed towards Jason and Troy, and went through a few halls to get to the kitchen.

"Aww, Troy and Jase don't get any sweets from Pay," Kelsi said with baby voice and a fake pout.

"I think Troy's gonna be the saddest about that," Ryan chuckled.

"And why is that?" Troy asked, taking a sip of his soda.

"Dude, don't make us say it," Chad said from behind the hand mirror.

"Say what?"

"Troy stop playing dumb," Jason patted Troy's back, and then shoved and handful of popcorn in his mouth. A dreamy look covered his face, "Mmhmm…**cheddar**."

"Who says I'm playing?" stated Troy, who was starting to get a little irritated.

"Troy, must we spell it out for you?" Ryan said. Troy raised an eyebrow, referring to when the basketball team spelled out "Go Drama Club!" and Ryan couldn't read it for the life of him. Ryan noticed this, and frowned. "You know what I mean."

"Troy, we all know how you feel about Sharpay." Taylor said.

"What are you talking about? She's my best friend."

"Yes, but we all know how you really feel."

"And that is?"

"We know you have a crush on Sharpay." Kelsi blurted. She squealed a little when Troy jumped up and covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shh! What, you trying to get Sharpay to hear?" Troy said in a hushed voice.

"See?" Ryan said. "You care about her. A lot."

"Of course I care about her. Like I said, she's my best friend." Troy said, removing his hand from Kelsi's mouth.

"Is she? Is she just a best friend to you?" Jason asked. For the first time ever, Jason said something to which Troy couldn't answer or respond to.

**_Kitchen…_**

Sharpay wandered into the familiar kitchen and walked over to the large fridge. The second she did, a huge picture of Michael Crawford was in her face. She had seen it a hundred times, much to her disbelief, and every time she encountered it she'd jump a foot in the air. She ignored it and began to rummage through the fridge, finding nothing of interest.

"Jesus Chad, don't you have anything other then Weight Watchers crap?" Sharpay huffed, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at Michael Crawford.

"Sadly, no. we blame it on our mom." She heard a voice behind her say. She whizzed around to see Erin there, a smirk on her face.

"Well then how am I gonna get food that will keep a bunch of teenagers up til five in the morning before we pass out?" Sharpay said, walking over and hugging Chad's big sister.

"Well I might have something," Erin said, pulling away from the blonde girl. "So I got this new job at this awesome new restaurant, right? And they gave all new employees a free platter of food that they sell. So maybe you all would want this!" she turned around and took a plate from the table behind her.

"Ta-da!" Sharpay didn't mimic the older girl's smiling expression. All she could do was stare blankly down at the giant platter of steaming green broccoli.

"Um, wow, Erin. Thank…you. Um, where exactly do you work now?"

"Vinnie's Vegetarian house of Vegetables!" stated Erin with pride.

"Wow, that's…great! Don't worry, buy the time that you see this platter again, there won't be one piece of broccoli in sight." Sharpay said with a fake smile, taking the platter into her own hands.

"Great, Sharpay! Well, I'm going to head up to bed. You can tell Chad to put the gun down, I won't be bothering you guys." Erin said, rolling her eyes at the sound of her pesky little brother's name.

"Kay. Night." Sharpay said. Erin simply waved before dashing up the stairs. When Sharpay was absolutely certain that she was out of hearing rang, she dropped the platter homing the disgusting food onto the kitchen counter. She had to think of a minute before that (pink) light bulb went off in her head.

"Instead of this junk that makes our insides rot, replace it with something sweet and a cherry on top."

Sharpay smiled at her new dessert, grabbed seven spoons from a drawer, and brought everything out to her friends.

"Well look what I've got!" Sharpay squealed in a sing-song voice. Every one of her friends gasped at the biggest sundae they had ever seen being carried in by Sharpay.

"How the hell did you find that in my house of diet nutrition?" Chad asked in amazement.

"Oh, you had all of the stuff. It wasn't that hard to whip off." Sharpay smirked. "Oh, by the way Chad, Erin's home and she's got a new job that she loves so can you please try to be nice to her?"

Chad made a face, but then sighed. "Are there nuts on that sundae?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Fine. I'll be nice." Everyone laughed. Sharpay sat down, everyone gathering around her, as they all began to dig in to the mouth watering treat.

**_Twelve minutes later…_**

"Boy I'm stuffed," Taylor said, sloughing down against the couch.

"Same here," Jason agreed, dropping his spoon into the empty bowl where the sundae disappeared from.

"I can't eat another bite," Chad said, picking up a slice of pizza and ripping off a giant piece with his mouth.

"Hey, why don't we watch a movie?" Kelsi asked, leaning on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Sure. Chad, drop the pizza and break out the horror!" Troy called across the room to Chad, who had finished his pizza slice and was moving onto another one.

"Uh, no." Taylor, Kelsi, and Sharpay chimed.

"What do you mean no?" Jason asked.

"Last time we all had a sleepover, we only watched horror movies. This time, we watch what we pick." Taylor said, pointing to herself and her female friends.

"Aww, but all you guys like are girly, gushy, love-dovey, mushy Disney stuff!" Chad whined.

"Exactly. Meaning no nightmares about some guy stalking me and trying to kill me when I'm babysitting." Sharpay said, still freaked out from the thought.

"Aw come on Shar, that movie was weak." Jason said.

"It so was not! _When a Stranger Calls_ scared me shitless!"

"Yeah, and none of you would have wanted to be with her when we went to see _The Dark Knight_. I actually lost circulation in my arm!" Troy said seriously.

"Dude, can you blame me! The Joker made the pencil disappear by shoving some guy's head through it!" Sharpay said, clutching a pillow for dear life.

"Ok, just let the girls pick out a movie before Sharpay has a panic attack." Ryan said.

"Aww, thank you baby." Kelsi said, giving him a peck on the lips.

"Traitor," Chad mumbled. The three girls jumped up and rushed over to the Danforth's movie rack, searching for a good movie.

"So Troy, you get a present for Ellie?" Ryan asked.

"We, um, never got a chance to today."

"Why not?"

Troy could see Sharpay tense up. "Um, we had a…run in with Briellaga Ontezma," Troy hushed.

Ryan could immediately understand. "Oh, sorry."

"Ok! We picked the best one!" Taylor called. The tow other girls walked back over to the couch area to get comfortable while Taylor popped in a DVD. She crawled back to where her friends were. Sharpay had taken a seat next to Troy, and was sitting pretty darn close to him. So close in fact, that if Troy turned his head to face her, he could make out with her cheek. Not that he was complaining though.

Chad took the remote from a coffee table and pressed play, bracing himself for the girliness that was about to take place. Damn Erin for keeping all her old girl movies.

They all watched the screen, waiting. Finally, the opening music started. It sounded Irish music in a way; it was slow and claming, and at the same time it made your heart ache. Troy knew this song all too well from his many years of being friends with Sharpay.

The screen showed an ocean, and the word Titanic floated onto the screen. Troy could hear the soft groans coming from Chad, Ryan, and Jason. And then he heard the sounds of sniffling and heavy breathing coming from the girl next to him. He looked over to see that Sharpay's large brown eyes were already glossy with tears. He slowly put his arm around her, knowing how she always needed comfort during this movie. Sharpay was a really sensitive person; I mean look at her now, she's crying at the **beginning** of _Titanic_.

Troy looked at Sharpay again, she felt him stare and turned to face him as well, mere inches away from his face. He gave her a reassuring smile. She returned it, but still knew she's cry. She leaned her head on his shoulder and snuggled up next to him. It felt so…right to Troy. He looked at his friends, who had all been looking at him and Sharpay. They all smiled at him, knowing looks covering their faces. He winked back at them, lightly kissed the top of Sharpay's head, and turned his attention back to the movie. He didn't really notice though how he was slowly closing his eyes…

Troy's eyes jerked open. He had heard the sound of a screams, and for a moment had thought it was Sharpay. But when he looked at the TV and saw that everyone was scrambling around the sinking ship, he realized he had fallen asleep. He looked at his friends.

Ryan was sitting on a rocking chair with Kelsi in his lap, rocking them slowly. Jason was next to Sharpay on the floor, lying on his stomach, his eyes glued to the screen. And then there was Chad and Taylor. They were both on the couch, an awkward space separating them. Troy shook his head and looked down next to him.

Sharpay was still snuggled up to him, a blanket now covering them. She was clutching his arm, and he could hear and feel her shudder and quietly crying. Troy's arm was still around her shoulders, and he tightened his grip.

She started cry a little louder as Rose let go of the dead Jack and let him in the water. Sharpay may love Joe Jonas like there ain't no tomorrow (those being her exact words) but she also never really gave up on her childhood crush on Leonardo diCaprio. So seeing him fall to the bottom of the ocean was always a heard thing for her.

Finally the movie ended. Everyone stretched a little and moved out of their positions.

"Well that was sad," Kelsi said, he own eyes a little wet.

"Aww, come on. It was only a move." Ryan said.

"Based on a true even!" Taylor defended.

"But you got to admit; Kate Winslet looked totally hot naked. Right Chad? Chad?" Jason asked his afro-loving friend. With no answer, everyone looked at him. Chad was clutching a pillow against his chest, tears rolling down his eyes.

"Aww Chad, you big softie," Sharpay smiled, whipping some of her own tears away.

"Aww shut up!" Chad said, taking a Kleenex and loudly blowing his nose. Everyone giggled and chuckled.

"Well what should we do now?" Jason asked his friends.

"How about truth or dare?" Kelsi suggested. They all agreed and moved into a circle.

"Ok, I'll go first." Kelsi said. "Um, Tay! Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Ok um, did Johnny Anderson ask you to the dance on Thursday but you turned him down?"

"…Maybe." Taylor smiled, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Ok Jason; truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to…wear one of Erin's bras for the rest of the night." Chad's face honest to God turned slightly green.

"How do I get it?" Jason asked, standing up.

"Here," Chad said, tossing him a bobby pin. "Use that to get in her room if it isn't already locked, and then you have to use it on the top drawer of her green dresser and it'll be pushed way in the back."

Jason gave his friend a look. "Right…"

So Jason left the living room and walked up the stairs to where the bedrooms were. A couple minutes later, he came down, holding the article of clothing in his fist.

"Well I got it, but how the hell do you girls put these damn things on?" Kelsi and Taylor giggled.

"Here' I'll do it Jase." Sharpay said, standing up and walking over to the raven haired boy. She crouched down behind him and took it from his hands. "Ok, so you put your arms through here…no not there! Here…yeah, and then you just close the clasp…damn I was always scared that one day I might have to teach one of you guys how to do this…there. Now you're one of us." Kelsi and Taylor laughed more as Sharpay walked back to her spot in between Ryan and Troy. Jason uncomfortably adjusted the straps.

"Jesus, how the hell can you girls wear these all the time?!"

"Well we started when we were eleven, not seventeen." Kelsi said, she and Taylor now doubling over in laughter.

"Whatever. Ok, Chad, truth or dare Buddy?"

"Dare."

"Ok, I dare you too…" Jason trailer off. He got up and whispered the dare into Chad's ear. Chad smiled evilly, and he and Jason got up from the room and dashed away.

"Where are they going?" Ryan asked.

"I don't like the looks of this…" Troy said, shaking his head. Moments passed of pure silence and confusion until…

"**WHIPPED CREAM**!" Chad and Jason yelled, jumping back into the room. From behind their back they pulled out pre-shaken cans of whipped cream and began to spray it all over their friends. Well, their female friends that is. Screams were flying all over the room as Sharpay, Taylor, and Kelsi were jumping and running all around, doing anything that would stop themselves from being covered in whipped cream.

Finally, after fifteen straight minutes of it, the boys were out of whipped cream.

"Uh oh," Chad muttered. He and Jason looked at the three girls. They were all drenched to the one in whipped cream, and had evil looks on their faces. This would have been a hilarious moment if Jason and Chad didn't know that they were about to get payback.

"AHHH!" the girls lunged, doing anything possible without physically hurting their guy friends. Kelsi and Taylor had pinned Chad to the ground, smothering his puff ball hair and head with the fresh whipped cream on their bodies. Sharpay and Jason were rolling on the floor, Jason trying not to have the tough blonde shove it all in his mouth.

When the girls finally had enough they stood up to admire their work. Chad and Jason now had whipped cream all over themselves, but still not enough to compare to the girls.

Sharpay smiled down at them. "Right back at ya, boys." She leaned over and gave each boy a kiss on the cheek. When she turned around, Troy and Ryan were basically gagging from laughter.

"TROY! RYAN!" she yelled, which made no difference. She discretely pointed at them, muttered something, and bam: they stopped laughing and sat up again instead of rolling on the carpet. Kelsi walked over to her boyfriend, sitting on his lap. Taylor sat back on the couch, and Sharpay sat next to Troy, who was always surprising a giggle.

"Ok, I no longer think we can dare each other. Now we're playing truth or dare, minus the dare." Sharpay declared.

"How fun is that gonna be?" Chad asked him and his friend walking back to their respective seats.

Sharpay dangerously raised an eyebrow. "Chad…" she warned.

"Right, sorry. Ok, well, it's mine turn. Ryan, truth or…_truth_?"

"Oh, gosh Chad…how about we go with truth?" Ryan said sarcastically.

"That was a very difficult decision, my friend. I can't believe someone would be able to make it on their own; you're a hero to me, Ryan Evans. A true blue, all-American-"

"Oh stop the drama, puff ball-boy. Just ask the question." Taylor rolled her eyes.

"Okay, on a scale on one to ten, how hot is Kelsi?"

"Twelve." Ryan said immediately.

"Was that bland enough for you Sharpay?" Chad asked.

"Oh, very much Chadykins, thanks!" Sharpay said sweetly.

"Ok well now I pick Troy," Ryan said, "Troy, honestly, do you have any feelings towards Gabriella?"

The room was silent. Chad forgot about his teasing Sharpay when he saw her tense up again. All eyes turned to her and Troy, everyone waiting for an answer.

"…well?" Jason asked quietly after a few minutes, scarred of what might happen and/or how loud Sharpay would be swearing.

"Uh…well…" Troy mumbled, fiddling with the red friendship bracelet on his left arm. It was his and Sharpay's friendship bracelet.

"Just say something Troysie," Sharpay said, irritation and slight hatred dripping from her voice.

Troy looked at Sharpay, who was just looking ahead, and not at anyone else. He could swear that by the second her eyes were turning more and redder, but maybe it was just nervousness. But he could no longer tell when she shut her eyes.

"No, I don't like, have a crush on her or anything. I mean, she's cute I guess-"

Before Troy could finish his answer, all of the DVDs on the DVD rack in the room flew off of their shelves. They flew across the room to where the gang all was, but mostly at Troy. They all landed on the surfaces around them, no one getting hurt. Taylor and Kelsi had been screaming out of fear, but stopped when they realized they weren't damaged.

"What the hell just happened?!" Jason said with his hand over his racing heart.

"I-I don't know. Maybe the DVD racks aren't stable enough?" Chad guessed, not believing what just happened.

"Guys, maybe we should just go to sleep. It is like three in the morning, anyway." Kelsi suggested, scared out of her wits.

"That sounds good," Ryan said, clutching onto his girlfriend tightly.

"I need to use the bathroom." Sharpay spoke up for the first time, getting up and walking to the Danforth's bathroom.

When she found the room she needed down after walking down a hall or two, Sharpay locked the bathroom door.

"Damn it!" she muttered. "Gabriella-bitch-slut-hag-damn-Jesus Christ-stupid Troy-argg!!" she calmed herself by turning on the water at the sink and splashing some on her face. She turned the cold water off and patted her face with the hand towel. When that was done, she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

Her eyes were red. Pure candy-apple red, instead of their natural mocha brown color. She hated when that happened; it took a hell of a lot of calming to get them back to normal.

"Why does he have to think she's cute?" she whispered to herself. She remembered that her camera was in her pajama bottom's pocket, and pulled it out. She went through her album until she found the picture she always kept in it.

It was of her and Troy on her birthday that year. After her party with her friends, Troy had taken her to a beach to watch the sunset. And even though her hair was wet, and she was wearing Troy's sweatshirt, and Troy just took his picture with one hand so it was unprofessional looking, it was still her all time favorite. She remembered how different she felt that day. She felt like her bond with Troy was intensified. When he held her, it felt better then ever. When he lent her his sweatshirt, she felt snugger. And when he took them out to share a moment for just the two of them, she felt more special.

"Why can't I be cute?" she whispered, feeling hot tears in her eyes. The only good thing about that was that it meant her eyes were back to normal again. She put her camera away and closed her eyes, clutching the sink in her hands.

"Damn you, Gabriella." she whispered. "Damn you. May a puff ball kill you in your sleep tonight."

* * *

_Woo! Another one done! Sorry about my rant last time. I'm just missing Niley and not liking what's happening now. I totally support Miley Cyrus! Anyway, really quick author's notes. _

_A/N1: I'm not gonna be here for the next few days because of my aunt's wedding, so I wanted to leave you readers with a long chapter that will hopefully keep you occupied until the 17th. _

_A/N2: I know at the beginning I said Sharpay was 18, but she's 17; they all are, except Kelsi. Her birthday doesn't come yet. _

_A/N3: I totally based Sharpay when they watched Titanic. I cry at the beginning all the time. It's totally one of the saddest most beautiful things in the whole world. _

_A/N4: sorry if you don't like some of the things I have the characters do/say. Some things aren't my opinions; I just do it for the purpose of the characters. Like the puff ball shebang: I totally just made it up. I thought it'd be funny. I don't want Gabriella to die yet…so much more drama must happen. Plus, I just think Ryella is too cute. But Vanessa is a different story…well, I wouldn't want her to die; that's a mean thought. but if she could just dump Zac I'd very much appreciate it. _

_LAST ONE I SWEAR!! A/N5: sorry for such little amounts of magic I've put in this story! I'm just trying to build it up. I think I've had more in this chapter then any of the others. Except for the prolog, of course. _

_Ok guys and galls! Thank you SO MUCH for sticking with me through all of this! review!! I love you and am totally gonna miss you these next few days (no service up where the wedding is…MADDNESS I tell you, MADDNESS!)_

**Love, JJ**


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

**Salem, October 8**

"Pick a number."

"Why?"

"Because I'm gonna do a trick."

"What kind of trick?"

"Just a trick."

"But what kind?"

"You'll know once I do it."

"But I want to know now."

"You will once you give me a number."

"I want to know what I'm getting myself into, first."

"Just pick a stupid number."

"I will once you tell me what you're going to do first."

"God damn it Chad!" Taylor heavily sighed. She, Chad, Troy and Sharpay were all sitting in Taylor's room that day after school.

"Chad, just pick a stupid number already!"

"I want to know what you're going to do first! Is that so much to ask?" Chad defended himself.

"YES! That is the whole point of a **trick**: you won't know what will happen until it happens!" an exasperated Taylor said.

"Well then maybe I don't want to." Chad said, crossing his arms over his chest. Taylor fell backwards on her bed she was sitting on, gabbing a pillow in the process and planting in onto of her face.

"Leave it to Chad to make a simple little thing like a number trick into a huge deal." Sharpay shook her head.

"I just wanted to know what was going on!" Chad raised his hands in defeat. "Pardon moi if that's a world wide crisis! Jeez, you're all so dramatic!"

"**We're** dramatic?" Troy challenged. "You're the one who makes a big deal out of anything."

"At least I'm not a movie nit-picker."

"Oh that was one time!!" Taylor's muffled voice said from behind her pillow, her hands shooting up in the air.

"Can we talk about something other then Chad's ODD?" Sharpay, who was sitting in the armchair in the room, asked as she brought her knees up to her chin.

"ODD?" Chad asked the blonde girl.

"Obsessive Dramatic Disorder." Sharpay smirked over at the afro boy.

"I resent that!"

"You know ODD also spells odd?" Troy input with a smile.

"This word was made for Chad!" Sharpay agreed.

"I thought we were moving on?" Chad huffed, twiddling with a charm bracelet he found on Taylor's desk. "Hey, where are the other weird kids we always hang out with? You know, one's this guy with messy hair who loves hockey, and another is this pale blonde guy, and the other is a tiny girl who loves her boyfriend too much?"

"Jason had hockey practice." Sharpay said as if it were obvious. She knew Jason's hockey practice schedule by heart.

"And Kelsi and Ryan had another date." Taylor said, the silk orange pillow still covering her angelic face.

"They always have a date, don't they?" Troy asked, slightly jealous.

"That's the result of having a girlfriend," Chad said, pulling on a spring of his hair, and watching it pop back to his head.

"We never get dates." Sharpay mumbled, playing with the bottom of her jeans.

"Well I can. I am on the baseball team, after." Said a smug Chad.

"And I'm on the basketball team. That doesn't mean I've got a girl with me all the time who wants me." Troy rolled his eyes.

"Yes you do. You have Sharpay, minus the whole 'wanting you' in that way part." Taylor said.

"Right. But you always could have a girlfriend, Troy. I mean, if you were into bitchy, snotty, annoying, pesky, horrid, evil, perky, rude, horrendous girls like Gabriella." Sharpay said, muttering Gabriella's name with pure anger.

"But you'd never be with Gabriella, right Troy?" Chad asked with a smile on his face. When his friend didn't respond though, his smile slowly faded into a frown. "Troy?"

But Troy still didn't answer. Taylor sat up for the first time, removing the pillow from her face and putting it in her lap.

"Troy? You don't really like Gabriella, do you?" Troy only squirmed uncomfortably in one of the beanbag chairs in the room he was sitting on.

"Troy, do you actually…like Gabriella?" Chad asked in awe. "I mean I know you've always thought she was cute, but do you actually like her? Like enough to go on a date?"

"I-I don't know, maybe?" Troy said, feeling completely on the spot.

"Enough to be Gabriella's boyfriend?" Chad asked. Troy couldn't answer. He only turned his head next to him to where the blonde girl who had not spoken yet was sitting. Her knees were still up to her chin, but she seemed emotionless. Her flawless pink lips weren't curved up in a smile or down in a frown; they were just straight. And her eyes were just staring straight ahead; no tears flowing from them or sudden sparkles of joy.

And she had every reason to feel be this way. She just learned so many sudden things she never wanted to know, because they were now ripping at her heart. She was still recovering from the sleepover Saturday night when she learned Troy thought _Gabriella_ was cute. But _apparently_ now he's _always_ thought that. _Apparently_ he might _like_ Gabriella. _Apparently_ he might want to _date_ her. _Apparently_ Troy had more room in his heart for another girl other than herself.

Sharpay never knew her place in his heart had been getting smaller and smaller. And she was scared the soon she might not have any room at all. And that scared her.

What was she talking about?! Troy was her friend! Her **best** friend! They had been friends for the whole lives! So what if Troy might like Gabriella? So what if that killed Sharpay? She should know better that Troy would never choose Gabriella Montez over her. Troy loved her, not Gabriella.

"I'm not sure. I would have to think about it a lot." Troy finally decided.

"What's there to think about? Either you like her and want to date that evil shrew, or you don't like her so we won't have to pay for your therapist." Chad said. "Because those dude are expensive like heck! It's just like a thousand dollars for one session, so if you asked Gabriella to be your girlfriend or something we'd keep on having to send you back and as much as people don't think it, I want to go to college, but I guess when I'm thirty-six and working behind the counter at Burger King and I run into my old friends and they ask why a stud-muffin like me is working where I am, I'll just have to say that I gave up the money for a college education and a good future to help my dear friend and his mental stupid-"

"Alright Chad! We get the point!" Sharpay said, never understanding how much more a Drama Queen Chad was then she'd ever be. "Troy, it's really up to you. We're your friends, and if you need to think about it, we'll let you. But when you get an answer, please tell us first. Okay?" Sharpay said. Taylor and Chad's jaws were dropped in pure awe. They thought Sharpay would have blown up at what she heard.

"Yeah, okay Shar." Troy mumbled, staring at her with a perplexed look. He also thought she would be off the wall in anger at what he was confessing. But instead she was just being…calm. But it's not like it was an especially happy calm.

"Hey, I'll be right back; just got to use the bathroom. And when I come back you better have the funniest movie in this house playing and waiting for me." Sharpay said, standing up with a smile.

Taylor nodded at her friend, a small smile on her lips. Sharpay nodded and walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom. Once in, she shut the door and locked it.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She sighed at how she could see specks of candy-apple red flickering in her eyes.

She sighed and placed bother of her palms on the bathroom mirror. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath to calm herself.

"Show me Gabriella." She commanded, and immediately pulled her hands away from the mirror.

It was now almost like the glass wasn't there, because Sharpay was clearly seeing Gabriella through the glass sitting on her bed, Zeke right next to her, the two of them watching TV.

"Zekey-poo?" Gabriella asked in a baby voice, tilting her head up to her boyfriend. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"Nothing is wrong with you, Gabi-pie. What makes you ask something as terribly wrong as that?" Zeke looked down at the brunette girl, putting his strong arm around her shoulders.

"Well not many people like me."

"What are you talking about Gabriella? Everyone loves you! You're the most popular senior East High has ever seen! And you're a shoe-in to be crowned princess at the Halloween dance."

"Then why doesn't Troy love me?" Gabriella pouted.

Zeke tensed up. "Why do you want Troy to like you? You have me. I care about you."

"I know that. But if Troy and I were together, we'd be the most popular people ever! We'd rule our pathetic little school. And I could show the world how bratty and imperfect Sharpay Evans really is."

"What makes you think she's perfect?" Zeke asked.

"Oh, I don't think she'd perfect one little bit. In fact I know she isn't. But everyone, all of her gay little friends, even Troy, thinks she's the best god damn thing to ever live. But she's not; I know it. And I'm gonna prove it somehow." Gabriella said, squinting her eyes evilly.

"Gabriella, why do you hate Sharpay so much?" Zeke asked, now becoming a little squirmy.

"That's for another time, Zeke. But I will tell you this: Sharpay has had this coming to her for a long, long time."

"But I don't want to talk about that hag anymore. In fact, I don't think we'll be doing any talking whatsoever." Gabriella said seductively, shifting on her bed so that now she was facing Zeke and sitting on his lap at the same time. Slowly, to savor the moment, she lifted up her Victoria's Secret PINK shirt. The sly smile on Zeke's face grew and grew by the second.

"Oh Jesus!" Sharpay mumbled, shutting her eyes. She quickly placed her hands back on the mirror and pulled them away. Just as quickly as it had come, the view of Gabriella and Zeke was gone, and Sharpay was looking back at her own reflection. And what she saw, to herself, could only be described in one word.

"Pathetic." She mumbled, shaking her head. She looked down on the sink's counter. There was a lot of Taylor's make up, a few of her hair products, and a tiny pair of shiny silver scissors. Her hand slightly moved toward them, but she instantly pulled back.

No, she was much better then that. She wasn't going to cut herself. She wasn't going to stoop so low just because of things Gabriella had said about her. She'd just solve this problem the usual way: make sure Gabriella got embarrassed in front of most of the school.

She walked out of the bathroom and back into Taylor's room. Chad was now sitting in Troy's beanbag chair, Taylor in Sharpay's armchair, and Troy was lying on the bed, leaving just enough room for her.

"About time! What, were you counting how many hairs you had on your head or something?" Chad asked.

"No, I was planning my secret way of chopping all of your hair off."

"If you do that Sharpay I'll sell your soul to the Flying Dutchman." Chad said seriously.

"You mean the pathetic little green ghost from Spongebob? Ooh, I'm shaking in my Nike's." Sharpay pretended to shiver, walking over to Taylor's bed. She plopped down on it, getting comfortable. Troy put his arm around her, assuring her that he wasn't far.

"So, what'd ya pick out?" Sharpay asked.

"The saddest movie ever made." Taylor said.

"Titanic again?" Sharpay asked.

"Remember the Titans?" Troy tried.

"Finding Nemo?" Chad asked. The three other teenagers looked at him as if her were crazy…so they actually had a good reason. "What!? You know I cried during that movie! When Nemo got captured in that little plastic baggy, I was a wreck. I couldn't eat for weeks. And when he finally got back with his dad? I was blubbering!"

"I'm never going to the movies with you again, dude." Troy shook his head. Taylor pressed play, and the beginning of Little Women began to play.

"Hey, Pay?" Troy asked in a whisper so quiet there was no way Chad or Taylor could hear him.

"Yeah?" Sharpay asked, looking up at the boy. It dawned on her how similar their current position was to the slut's.

"I've actually been thinking this for a while, and…"

"And…?" Sharpay whispered, telling Troy he could continue.

"What would you say if…"

"If what Troy? You can tell me; I'm your best friend."

"If I wanted to ask Gabriella…on a date?"

_

* * *

_

Oooooh, CLIFFY!

_Ok, I'm terribly sorry for my poor updating. I know it's been like a month, and this is like the shortest chapter yet, and I'm truly sorry. And I'm sure none of you want to hear excuses. But it's just been hard starting school again and everything's changed. _

_A/N1: Oh my Jonas, you should all totally go to YouTube to Ashley Tisdale's channel, and check out her video "Ashley Tisdale – Senior Portrait HSM3." It's a really great HSM3 behind the scenes thing. And at the first Zashley moment, I was seriously crying. Ya think I'm a bit too obsessed with Zashley? ………**NAAAWWW**! But really, check it out. Also, check out the new poll on my pro. It'll help for future chapters. Thanksss!! _

_A/N2: Have any of you been watching "Date My Ex: Jo & Slade"? I have, but I missed the last episode I think. But I saw the one where Slade asks for a date with Jo. LIKE WOAH! I could NOT believe it. But then again I kinda could, because I think we all kinda always knew either Slade or Jo still had feelings for one another. _

_A/N3: I'm really desperate now: Can someone who's totally interested in it and would love to help out a girl begging on her hands and knees **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE** review saying they'd like to be my co-writer on "Let It Snow"?? please? I want to update it, but I really need help. So if you're interested, don't hesitate to ask. _

_A/N4: Does anyone know somebody, or they themselves, that can make really good looking posters? You know like on Photobucket or Tinypic? Mine aren't that great; I can't really cut out a person or blend things together. But if someone would make me one for some of my stories, I would totally appreciate (JB pun) it and praise them and spread the word about them around. So if you know someone like that or if you can do it yourself, let me know. _

_Thanks guys! And sorry about the bad update and updating. I promise I'll do MUCH better. _

_Pass this story around! Show it to your friends! I feel like I'm lacking in reviews (except from Serena – her reviews are so long and amazing that I'm smiling and laughing the whole live long day because of them! love ay Serena!)._

**I love you guys!!**


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

**Salem, October 8th**

Sharpay swore her heart stopped. She had never felt anything like this before. She felt like her throat was blocking air and she couldn't breath. She felt like someone had taken her head and slammed it against concrete. She felt like Chad's clumsy hands had thrown a football at her stomach. And she felt like someone had torn open her chest and slowly stabbed her heart. She didn't think anyone could feel like this.

"What?" she whispered, her throat suddenly dry.

"Well, I know she's been really mean to us in the past. But I think she could be a really great girl. Maybe she just needs someone to steer her in the right direction. And I do think she's cute, and she might turn out ok." Troy confessed quietly.

"Do you really like her Troy?" Sharpay breathed, her heart now beating a mile a minute.

"A little. But if you don't want me too, I won't. I would never want you to be unhappy because of me." Troy said honestly.

That's one thing about Troy that Sharpay loved. He'd do anything for her. He wouldn't date someone if she didn't want him too? No one would ever do that for her. And she didn't want him to date Gabriella. She'd be horrible to their friends, she'd be horrible to Troy, and she'd make Sharpay's life a living nightmare. She never wanted Troy to have to go through that. She wanted Troy to always be happy. But…what if dating Gabriella would make Troy happier?

"Troy…" she trailed off, her eyes burning with tears that she tried to hide. "If you want to see if you can make Gabriella a better person…I'm not stopping you." she choked out.

"Really?" Troy asked, surprised. He had been sure she would have said no, and he'd have to live with disappointment.

"If it'll make you happy." Sharpay nodded.

Troy smiled down at the blonde girl. "You know you're my best friend in the whole world?"

Sharpay forced a tiny smile. "You're my best friend too." Troy put his other arm around her and hugged her tight.

But Sharpay couldn't be held tightly by him right now. If she did, she thought she would have exploded. She closed her eyes and mumbled something inaudible.

"_Ooh, this is an S.O.S. don't want to second guess_-" Sharpay's cell phone went off. Troy, Chad, and Taylor all looked over at the source of sudden pop boy-band music. Sharpay didn't even look at the caller ID before answer.

"Hello? Oh, hey Daddy…I'm over at Taylor's…really? Because we're watching a movie…ok, I'll be there…it's ok…ok, see you in a few…love you too…bye Daddy." Sharpay closed her phone shut. "Sorry guys, that was my dad. He says too many of his employees are out sick, and I need to help down at the store."

"Oh, ok. Tell him I say hi," Taylor said, sorry she had to be stuck with two boys who could eat more then Garfield the cat.

"Will do. Bye guys," Sharpay said, getting up off the bed and out of Troy's embrace.

"Later Shar." Chad waved.

"Bye Pay." Taylor smiled.

Sharpay stopped at the door and waved to the two. She looked over at Troy last. He smiled a happy smile at her. Sharpay smiled slightly back, blinking back the hot wetness in her eyes before closing Taylor's door shut.

She quickly dashed down the hallway, then down the stairs, and then through the front door. The sudden feeling of the bitter cool autumn breeze on her skin made Sharpay shiver. She looked down each side of Taylor's street before turning right. She walked for a moment or two, just long enough that she was completely out of view from any window in Taylor's house. And then she began to run.

Why had she said yes? Why on earth had she said yes? She hated Gabriella; just hated her. And she loved Troy so much; he was her best friend. Why had she said yes?

She could have said no. Troy said she could have said no. She could have said no, and he wouldn't have to ask out Gabriella. And it didn't even matter if Gabriella was still with Zeke. She'd just dump him, or tell Troy that they broke up. Gabriella had won. And Sharpay had lost in the worst possible way. And it was only her fault.

She hadn't even noticed that she had started to heavily cry. She didn't even notice where she was going. But it didn't matter. Sharpay's world was crashing down before her. She was pretty thankful she had been able to create that cell phone spell a few years ago. If she didn't, she might have had to stay in that room. And if she did, she might have gone crazy.

After a while, Sharpay began to get tired. She looked on each side of the street to find a place to stop. On her side of the street was a deserted playground. So she jogged over and stopped in front of the lonely, cold metal playground.

She and her friends had spent so much time here. It was a special place for them, because it was the first time that they_ all_ became best friends when they were ten years old.

-Flashback-

"Ryan! Stop tickling me!" a ten-year-old Kelsi giggled. Her auburn curls were bouncing as she laughed merrily.

"Naw-aw!" Ryan laughed. His blonde hair was up in spikes, and light freckles covered his fair-skinned nose.

"You two are such dorks." Jason smirked at the two. Everyone knew that they both had a crush on each other…except themselves, that is.

"Jasey, face it: we're all dorks." A young Sharpay said. She and Jason were sitting on the merry-go-round, Troy and Chad were on top of the monkey bars, and Kelsi, Taylor, and Ryan were scattered about the big kid slide.

"I'm not a dork! I'm the coolest one of us here." Chad argued, a smug smile on his face.

"Chadykinz, I think you're the biggest dork of us all." Taylor giggled, her dark chocolate brown hair in two low pigtails, and fingers twirling one continuously.

"Am not!" Chad argued.

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are two!"

"Am not am not am not!"

"Are too are too are too!"

"Ok, lovebirds, we get it." Troy said, nudging (a madly blushing) Chad's arm. Everyone, besides Chad and Taylor, began to laugh. But Sharpay's laughing started to subside when someone stood before her, blocking the light of the setting sun. She looked up to see Gabriella Montez, her long and wavy dark brown hair cascading down her tiny back. Her brown eyes were narrowed down at Sharpay, and she put her left had on her hip.

"What do you want, Gabriella?" Sharpay asked, fighting back a cold glare. Her mother always told her that she should always try to be the better person, even when pitted against someone she didn't like.

"I wanted to know why you're hanging on the merry-go-round. It's _such_ a baby ride." Gabriella spat, teenage attitude already emerging.

"We're just sitting on it, Gabriella. Now would you mind leaving us alone?" Jason asked, his eyebrows knitting together in annoyance.

"You are the rudest people! All I did was walk over here nicely with my boyfriend and suddenly you're all shooing me away! Zeke, make them be nice!" Gabriella pouted up at a young Zeke, whose hand she was holding.

"Gabriella, they weren't really being mean." Zeke said, trying to calm down his young girlfriend. Even though they were only ten, Zeke was still pretty tall, and had to look down at her whenever they spoke.

"Zeke!" Gabriella warned, her sparkling white teeth grinding against each other. Zeke sighed. He could never win with this girl, and had the feeling he never would.

"If we're bothering you so much, why don't you just leave?" Chad said coldly.

"Shut up, basketball head!" Gabriella spat at Chad, taking him aback. She locked Troy's with eyes for a moment, sending him a wink and a small smile. Troy raised an eyebrow, slightly disgusted. But she was a cute girl, so it wasn't all that bad. Gabriella turned her attention back to Sharpay.

"Get up."

"Excuse me?" Sharpay asked, folding her tan arms across her chest.

"Get up! Zeke wants to push me on the merry-go-round." Gabriella stated, her left hand finding its place on her hip again, and her other still intertwined with Zeke's.

"I do?" Zeke asked. Being Gabriella's boyfriend, he always ended up "wanting" to do things he never knew he wanted.

"Yes, you do! Now move it, Evans! You too, Cross!" Jason stood up in a huff and walked over to the monkey bars, leaning against the poll with his arms crossed. But Sharpay stayed in her place.

"Evans, you better move it, or else." Gabriella warned.

"Or else what?" Sharpay challenged. Gabriella opened her mouth, but couldn't think of anything threatening enough. She knew Sharpay was pretty tough, and her usual threats wouldn't work on her.

"I'm giving you to the count of three."

"It took you this long to learn how to go up that high?" Jason asked with a smirk. Gabriella sent him a quick icy glare before turning her attention back to the blonde girl.

"One," Sharpay didn't move.

"Two," Gabriella said, her voice rising. Sharpay merely narrowed her own brown eyes, emulating Gabriella.

"THR-" Before Gabriella could finish, Sharpay was already standing. All of the kids were a bit shocked. They never thought Sharpay would listen to Gabriella.

"All yours, Gabriella." Sharpay smiled sweetly, stepping aside. Gabriella looked at her strangely, utterly confused at the blonde girl's actions.

"Um, right. Smart move, **Evans**," Gabriella said, regaining her bitter composure. Sharpay continued to smile sweetly, putting a hand behind her back and snapping her fingers twice.

There was a slight clatter, and everyone looked to see that the big bulky bracelet that Gabriella had been wearing slipped off of her tiny wrist, and landed on the metal merry-go-round. Gabriella was confused, because even though she did have a small wrist, the bracelet had stayed in place all day, and had no reason why it suddenly decided to fall off. Slowly, she bent over to pick it up. As she did this, Sharpay pointed at Gabriella, an evil smirk playing across her lips.

Once Gabriella bent over, the tearing sound of her hot pink skirt pervaded the entire playground. Gabriella's head shot up, her cheeks burning red. Zeke's eyes were the size of apples, feeling sorry for the embarrassment his girlfriend would have to endure. But the rest of the group was laughing their guts out. Gabriella looked at all of the laughing faces, her embarrassment level rising each time. Panicked, she grabbed her bracelet and ran out of the playground.

"ZEKE!" she shrieked. Zeke, who had been frozen by amaze, ran off, following the sound of her voice.

"Dude, that was AWESOME!" Chad said between laughs.

"She totally deserved that," Kelsi giggled madly, high-fiving Taylor. Then their laughter began to die down, and a happy silence took over.

"Hey guys, I say we make a promise." Sharpay said, breaking the silence.

"What kind of promise, Pay?" Troy asked.

"A friendship one. Let's all promise that we'll be bestest friends for the rest of our lives; let's promise that no matter what, no one, not even Gabriella could tear us all apart." Sharpay said, sticking out her small hand. Troy smiled, jumping down from the monkey bars, and placing his hand on top of hers. With no hesitation, the rest of the friends got up and started to pile their hands on top of each other's.

"Best friends forever?" Sharpay asked, looking around. Everyone nodded and smiled and giggled.

"Forever," Troy said, smiling down at Sharpay. She looked up at him and they locked eyes. They both knew they were closer then anyone else. At least that's what Troy meant when he lightly squeezed Sharpay's hand. And that's what Sharpay thought.

-end-

Sharpay shivered, tears of happy remembrance and present sadness sliding rapidly down her face. She remembered that day clear as rain. It was the day when she first could completely control her powers. It was the day when her and Gabriella's rivalry took to new heights. it was the day she knew she would never loose Chad, or Taylor, or Kelsi, or Ryan, or Jason. And it was the day she first knew that she would love Troy so much, and he'd be there for her forever.

But he wouldn't be there forever. The only reason he had been all these years was because he never had a girl he could fully call his own, one he could love unconditionally and she'd love him back. But if he asked Gabriella out, all of that would change in the blink of an eye.

But Sharpay just couldn't understand why. Why would Troy want to date her? What could he possibly see in that she-devil that was good and pure and totally date-worthy? What had changed? Why had all those years of the two friends despising Gabriella Montez suddenly seem to have faded away? What did Gabriella do that made Troy want her? What went wrong?

All of these questions were swarming Sharpay's head all at once, giving her a massive headache. Her phone vibrating in her jacket pocket thankfully took her away from in all. Without even looking, she took out the phone and pressed the green talk button.

"Hello?" she asked. she knew whoever was on the other end would be able to tell she was crying, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

The voice was raspy and almost unclear. She knew what it was saying, but couldn't tell if it was boy or girl, human or even creature. But whoever, or whatever, it was, it certainly made her realize that something else mattered.

"_I know what you are_." And then all Sharpay could hear was the dial tone.

* * *

**ANOTHER CLIFFY!!**

I'm super sorry for my bad updating. I'm getting so much homework, and I'm not doing that good with it, so it takes much longer, leaving me with less computer time.

A/N1: Thank you for everyone who voted in my poll! I know I didn't use the answer this chapter, but I will in the next couple. But how many of you are loving my new dramatic-ness and cliffhangers in the story? I know I am!!

A/N2: YAAAAAAAAYYY!! Thank God for Sharpay Evans Bolton! (And yes, we will be saying that when HSM3 comes out and they show what happens when the gang grow up and Troypay gets married. Only kidding. That would only ever happen in my dreams) Sharpay Evans Bolton, aka Erin who gave me Ryan's last name and plays Chad's older sister in this fic, has said she would be my co-writer for "Let It Snow." That means I'll finally be updating it! HO-RAY! I'll talk to her over the weekend about everything and the legits, but we're going to be updating that story! Y'all who love that story better thank her!!

A/N3: Another reason for slow updating is the NY Yankees!! I went to their last Saturday game and actually cried, even thought "there's no crying in baseball." (Anyone who knows what movie that's from without looking it up, I'll post their name in my A/Ns as faithful reviews!!) And I watched all of Sunday's game. It just makes me really sad, cause I don't particularly like the new stadium, and I've always been a baseball girl. So it's just been hard to say goodbye.

A/N4: Serena noticed this, and I didn't! but in my last chapter, I did not, I repeat NOT, mention Joe Jonas! Holy Figgy Pudding! And I didn't in this chapter!! It's just that there's a lot of drama going on. It should all clear up soon, and Joe Jonas will be mentioned once again! I promise!! Speaking of the JB, no one reviewed my latest chapter of "Troypay: Jonas Brothers Style." Do people not like it anymore? I won't stop wiriting it because I love it so much, but I would like at least a little feedback. And thanks Serena for being on my side with stupid "Havoc Flamer" (what a jerk)

Ok guys, thank you SO MUCH for your support! Keep reading, and keep review!

Love Jenna-boo


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

_What._

That word was going through Sharpay's head repeatedly at the moment; nothing else.

Who was that who called? She had searched her phone, but no where did it say the number that had called her.

Why did they call? Why did this person call her and say one thing, and then hang up? What was the reason for doing that?

How? How had anyone figured out her secret? How could anyone find out she was a witch? All these years being so careful about her powers were down the drain.

What was she going to do? What was she going to say? She didn't know who had called her; it could have been someone from school or the president or…Joe Jonas for all she knew! Although if it was Joe Jonas, maybe it wouldn't be so bad…_Stop it, Sharpay. You have the biggest crises of your life, and all you can think about is Joe Jonas!?_

Her ringtone started belting out Hold On again. This time she looked at the caller ID to see who she'd be talking to. It was Chad.

"Hello?" Sharpay answered, her voice still shaky from her last call.

"Sorry, Pay. I had lost reception last time." Chad's voice said on the other line.

"Last time?" Sharpay asked, slightly dazed.

"Yeah, when I just called a minute ago. Remember, I said I knew where you were?"

"You know…" Sharpay stopped herself. It was only Chad. She had totally misheard him. Stupid nerves. She totally freaked out over nothing. She let out a sigh, her breath a visible white mist in the cool October air.

"Shar? Are you ok?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry. But, what do you mean you where I am?"

"Well, I know you said you had to go to your dad's store, but seeing you run out of the house and down the street crying made me think different." His voice sounded a lot closer. Sharpay turned around to see he was just on the other side of the wooden fence that separates the playground from the rest of the world. Sharpay closed her phone shut while Chad walked over.

"You saw me crying?" Sharpay asked. Chad nodded as he took a seat next to her on the old merry-go-round.

"What was wrong?" Chad asked, concern glossing his brown eyes.

"It's Troy…" Sharpay trialed off. Her voice was becoming dry again, and her eyes were stinging from fresh hot tears.

"Troy? What did he do?" Chad asked. He hated to see Sharpay so upset. He may not be as close to her as Troy was, but then again, was anyone really as close to Sharpay as Troy was? So if Troy was the reason for Sharpay unhappiness, then something was defiantly wrong.

Sharpay sniffed, her eyes already red and swelling up with falling tears. She looked up at Chad with a look of such pity, you'd never think you'd seen a sadder sight.

"Troy…wants to ask out…he likes…" Sharpay just couldn't put the right words together. Because if you thought about it, how right does "Troy likes Gabriella and wants to ask her out" sound?

"Troy wants Gabriella." Sharpay whispered.

Chad had never felt so many emotions at once. Anger at Troy for hurting Sharpay like this. Pissed off at Gabriella for being a bitch and stealing Troy. Worried for what the rest of the gang was going to think when they heard about this. And pity and concern for Sharpay. Gabriella, her mortal enemy, was taking away her best friend, and destroying her confidence every minute.

"When did he tell you this?" Chad asked, his voice colder than ice.

"When we were watching the movie." Sharpay said quietly.

"And he just said he was going to ask out Gabriella?!" Chad asked incredulously.

"N-no, he asked me if I'd be ok with it."

"And you told him yes?" Chad asked loudly, only a step away from hollering. Sharpay's face turned from sad to scared. Chad wasn't this mad often, but when he was, Sharpay never wanted to be the person he was mad at. When Chad realized this, his voice softened. "Shar? Why did you tell him yes?"

Sharpay slowly shook her head while taking in a sharp breath. "Because he thinks she can be better. He thinks he can make her better. But he can't. Nobody can. But Troy wants to try; because he likes her. Troy likes Gabriella. And I think…she can make him happy. And if there is one thing I'll never do, it's keeping Troy away from being happy. Even if it means I have to suffer." She explained between fresh sobs. Chad put his arms around the small girl and pulled her close. Sharpay clung onto Chad's arms, never wanting to let go. Chad was slowly rubbing her back, trying to clam her, and himself, down. Troy and Gabriella were going to regret this. Gabriella was going to regret trying to seduce Troy into her slutty arms, and Troy was going to regret ever wanting to be with Gabriella, and especially telling Sharpay. Chad would make sure they'd regret their actions.

--

**October 10**

Sharpay slowly walked down the main hallway that morning. The hallway was crowded with students clad in red, white, and gold in honor of the basketball game today. Normally, Sharpay and her circle of friends would always be super school-spirited for such occasions.

But Sharpay wasn't as dressed up as she usually was. She only wore her pure white Nike's, jeans, and a red wife beater. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she tried to squeeze her way through the crowd so she could get to her locker.

"Sharpay!" she heard her name being called. She looked back at the crowd she had just passed through to see Kelsi and Ryan jogging up to her, hand in hand (obviously). Sharpay stopped so they could catch up. When they did, Sharpay took at once over at what they were wearing.

Kelsi had on a red tank top that had gold sequins scattered everywhere, white corduroys, and red flip flops. Ryan had a white button up and gold tie, which were covered with a red vest, and matching black dress pants and shoes. And resting on his head was a black and gold stripped fedora.

"Wow. You two sure look dressed up," Sharpay commented.

"Well of course! We always dress up for the games. Which is why we're wondering…why you aren't." Kelsi said.

"What do you mean? I'm dressed up. School colors."

"Shar, last game you wore a gold feather boa. And that was nothing compared to the rest of your outfit. This just seems like a large step down." Ryan commented.

"Are you ok?" Kelsi immediately asked.

Sharpay didn't say anything. Should she tell them? I mean, Troy hadn't asked Gabriella out _yet_. But she did tell Chad, and it's not like it wasn't going to happen. And they were some of her best friends, and they deserved to know.

"Just…a little shaken." She confessed, now finding a huge interest in her shoes.

"Shaken? Pay, what happened?" Kelsi asked, holding onto Sharpay's bare shoulder. It was a warm day today – the first in a while – so Sharpay wasn't sure why she was getting goosebumps.

"It's Troy. He's going to ask out…Gabriella."

"WHAT?!" Ryan shrieked.

"Um, did Troy NOT notice that Gabriella was a grade A bitch?" Kelsi asked, amazed and angry.

"Is he HIGH!?" Ryan asked.

"No, he just…I don't know. You guys should really be asking him this. But he probably wants to tell you all after he asks her. So, don't mention it to him. Please?" Sharpay asked in a small voice. Kelsi's eyes were washed over with sorrow.

"Oh, Pay. I'm so sorry." She said honestly.

"Me too." Ryan said.

"Thanks. Well, I better get to my locker. I'll see you guys in homeroom." Sharpay said, turning around and walking away. Ryan and Kelsi watched their blonde friend go.

"I don't like this, Ry." Kelsi said. "I don't like this at all."

"Me too, Kell; me too."

When Sharpay reached her locker, she was a bit surprised to see Troy already there, leaning against it. He had on his practice jersey, jeans, and his lucky sneakers. He had a smile on his face, and something tucked in his arms that were crossed over his chest.

"Hey Sharpie." Troy greeted his best friend.

"Hi Troy." Sharpay said quietly.

"So, can I expect my number one cheerleader to be at my game, leading me to victory?" Troy asked. Sharpay couldn't help but smirk.

"Of course, Troy. I never miss one of your games."

"And I thank you for that by letting you wear this," Troy unfolded his arms to reveal his white and red letterman's' jacket. In the left chest corner was the Wildcats' symbol and Troy's name written in script. And on the back was Troy's number: fourteen. Troy let Sharpay wear it every single game he played, because she was the number one girl in his life.

Sharpay's smirk turned into a smile. God, she could be so dang mad at Troy Bolton and the slightest thing he does makes her turn to mush.

"Thank you, Troysie." Sharpay giggled, taking the jacket and slipping it on. It was always big on her, but that never mattered to her. It was stilly warm and comfy, just like when Troy hugged her.

"Always, Pay. Now, um, did you see…Gabriella today, by any chance?" Troy asked awkwardly.

"Um, no I haven't yet. Try asking Zeke?" Sharpay said, trying her hardest to be polite. Troy smiled when he saw she wasn't showing any anger.

"Ok, thanks, I will. See you, later, Sharpay." Troy smiled, winking his oh so famous wink at her, and then continuing down the hall.

Sharpay sighed heavily as she thought. Zeke; poor, poor Zeke. He had no idea that he was about to lose the girl he loved. Zeke didn't deserve it. He really loved Gabriella. And he didn't care that his feelings were never fully returned. That's how much he loved Gabriella. What would Zeke do when Gabriella happily dumped him because now she had the person she really wanted? Sharpay was too scared to even think about that. Zeke would do anything-ANYTHING-for Gabriella.

Sharpay tried to push the thought out of the way. She was stressing herself out way too much. She slammed her locker closed and started walking to her homeroom. Today was going to be a good day. She wasn't going to worry about her secret, or Gabriella, or Zeke, or Troy. She was just going to have a care free school day, go to the pep rally after school, and then Troy's game. Today was just going to be a regular day…she hoped.

--

"You can do this, Gabriella, you can do this." Gabriella told herself quietly. She was staring down the hall, to where Zeke was at his locker. "You're doing this to get Troy, Gabriella; Troy Bolton. Zeke can never compare. And he's pulling you down. Break up with him, and Troy Bolton will be all yours."

She needed to walk down the hall, but she couldn't move her feet. Why? Why was it so hard to do this? All she was doing was breaking up with Zeke. She knew after eight years of dating it might be hard, but Zeke would get over it. Heck, Gabriella was over it five minutes ago when she decided to do it. Breaking up with Zeke would be beneficial for the both of them. But then why was it easier said than done?

_Stupid question, Gabriella,_ the little voice in the back of her head said. _Zeke loves you and you know it._

Gabriella took a deep breath. Well, Zeke will just have to learn to love someone else. Now confident, Gabriella tightened her grip on her Gucci bag and walked over to Zeke. He saw her coming and started to smile brightly. God, why must he have a perfect smile? _No, no,_ Gabriella mentally smacked herself, _Troy's is far better._

"Hi, Zeke." Gabriella said, feeling much less confident now.

"Hello, beautiful." Zeke said, leaning down and kissing his girlfriend's cheek.

"Zeke, can I tell you something?" Gabriella asked, wanting to desperately get this over with.

"Always, Princess. But first, I want to give you something." Zeke reached into his locker and pulled out a letterman's jacket almost identical to Troy's. Yes, his name was writing in script, and yes, his number 32 on the back, but there was something different.

Gabriella gasped. On the back of the jacket, right under his number, was "Gabriella's Guy" written in big white block letters. Gabriella was…touched. No one would ever do something like this for her. But Zeke did. Because he loved her.

"Do you like it? I sewed the letters onto it myself…and, you know, with a little help from my mom." Zeke added sheepishly.

"You sewed it?" asked a stunned Gabriella.

"Yeah; got the scars to prove it," Zeke said, holding up a hand that hand little bandages everywhere. Gabriella just continued to stare in amazement at Zeke's kind gesture. "Well, do you like it?"

_Yes! Yes! You love it! Tell him you love it! Tell him you** love** him!_ Gabriella's conscience told her. But Gabriella bit her tongue, and she no longer seemed grateful and in awe.

"Zeke, I need to tell you something." Gabriella said, avoiding his question. "I want to break up. It's been nice, you've been good, but eight years together has been way too much. I need to branch out and meet new guys, and you might even get a new girl or too."

You'd think Zeke just got stabbed in the heart. And really, he was. "Gabi, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying we're done, Zeke. The sex was great, though." Gabriella spun on her heal and started strutting down the opposite way. She left a heartbroken Zeke standing alone by his locker, his letterman's jacket lying clumsily on the tiled floor of the empty hallway.

**

* * *

**

Gabriella is such a BEEEEEEP!

Heyy guys. Sorry I haven't updated this in…forever. I wanted to at least update by Halloween, but I was out. And I had no school of for Election Day, so I forced myself to finish this chapter (sorry it ain't good – just a filler)

A/N1: So, I saw HSM3 the day after it came out and then again on Saturday. AHHH! I honestly squealed at all Troypay/Zashley moments. This (hott) guy in front of me told me to stop, and I said sorry, I was just squealing at…how cute your hair is! XD really, I did. He smiled, and said it was ok. Anyway, the Zashley bit in "I want It All" was so Zashley-fantastic, I had to bit my straw to stop from screaming. So in all, I like the songs I Want It All, A Night to Remember, Can I Have This Dance, Scream, High School Musical, and The Boys are Back. And I cried at the end. I mean, guys, the High School Musical legacy…is over.

A/N2: Ok, this author's note is dedicated to my evaluation to the three new kids who will try to be cool and make an HSM4 that will never live up to the real stuff. **_SPOILER ALERT!!!_**

_Donny_: We like, never saw Donny! Anyone else notice? But when we did, he was cute. Like when Chad and Troy stole his and Jimmie's clothes. And he was really the only normal new character. But is his character supposed to be 15? The other two are, and he just seems a bit short. But I'm not judging. One of my 13 year old friends is 4'7.

_Tiara_: You know, I actually liked her through a lot of the movie. She was Sharpay's personal assistant; who wouldn't love that job? Seriously. But at the end when she stole Sharpay's role in the musical and was being a BB (British Bitch), I wanted to slap her all the way "across the pond" back to England. No one messes with Sharpay Evans.

_Jimmie_: I love him!!! He's such a dork and a goof, but so adorable at the same time! I was slightly creaped at how he was like, Troy's stalker, but who cares? We all idolize Troy. And I'm sorry, but that bit in the musical where he was singing with Sharpay gave me the chills. They'd be SUCH cute couple! Don't you think? They're like the new JasonxSharpay for me.

A/N3: Okay, this is more serious. Just yesterday, I found out that one of my friends, who I've known since the first grade, had lost his mother over the weekend. His older brother isn't old enough to take care of him, and his little brother was told that his mom was on vacation. They have no contact with their dad; he isn't in their lives. They have a godmother and a grandmother, but they don't live near here. So he might have to move to be with them, or he might be put in foster care. it hit my grade hard, because we all know and care about each other. My class spent the first half of the day crying with the principal and guidance counselor, because it brought back really sad memories for everyone, myself included. So if you could say a little prayer for my friend Jonathon and his family, I'd gratefully appreciate it. Thanks.

**RIP Veronica. You were our number one football mom. It won't be the same without you. ily**


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

**October 10 (CONTINUED)**

_I can do this. I can do this. I think I can; I think I can…_

Sharpay felt stupid for sounding like the little engine that could, but she had to keep telling herself that she was strong enough to go. Because if she didn't, she would be a coward. And Sharpay Evans was no coward.

Sharpay walked into the gym, late for the pep rally, and searched the crowd for her friends. She found them on the other side of the court and caught Taylor's eye, who waved to her to come over. Sharpay nodded in return and began to speed walk across the gym before she got noticed by a cheerleader. But it wasn't a cheerleader who stopped her halfway and grabbed her arm.

"Hey Pay," Troy smiled happily at his friend, "You're here."

"Of course I'm here. Why would I miss it?"

"Shar, the pep rally started, like, fifteen minutes ago. You're always early, not late."

"Oh, yeah, um, I had to talk to Mr. Tuttle about my science experiment, sorry. But I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Yeah, you are," Troy smiled, "And you're wearing my jacket."

"I love this jacket, Troy. I wear it all the time, you know that." Sharpay giggled, remembering her reason for coming to the game instead of ditching like a scaredy-cat.

"And that's why it's for you," Troy smiled, his eyes shining, "Well, I better get going. We're all about to be introduced. Promise you'll cheer for me?"

"I'll loose my voice just so you can hear me."

"Great, thanks Sharpay." Troy chuckled, giving his best friend a peck on the forehead before dashing off to the sidelines where his teammates stood. Sharpay stayed in her spot for a moment, mesmerized by Troy's little kiss, before remembering her friends were waiting. She skipped-ran to the bleachers and climbed the stairs up to the row that her friends took up.

"Hey guys," Sharpay said, her voice happier than it was before.

"Hey Sharpay," everyone greeted, sliding down to make room for the petit blond girl.

"Where have you been?" Jason, who was sitting in between Sharpay and Chad, asked.

"Oh, had to talk to a teacher about something. It's nothing." Sharpay lied.

"Are you sure?" asked a concerned Chad.

"Yes, Chad. I'm fine." It was true. Troy just made her happy.

"Shar, Kelsi and Ryan told Jason and me all about what Troy did." Taylor said sympathetically, leaning over so she could see Sharpay's face.

"Yea, and trust me, we're all gonna kick his sorry butt when the pep rally is over." Jason said, placing a hand on Sharpay's shoulder.

"Thanks, but that won't be necessary, guys. Troy hasn't talked about Gabriella all day. So I don't think it's happen yet. And if I can work my magic, hopefully the thought will leave his mind." Said Sharpay coyly.

"Okaayyy, East High Wildcats!" the school's PA announcer yelled into the microphone, catching everyone's attention, "Give it up for your East High Wildcat Varsity basketball playerrrs!" All of the students cheered loudly as the team stood up, waving at everyone.

"And now for the lineup! Number sixteen, _your_ senior captain, Bret Daniels!" The announcer said more names and the students cheered more. Sharpay was curious why when every basketball player walked up, he was also escorting a cheerleader.

"Number fourteen, Troy Bolton!" all of Troy's friends stood up and cheered loudly for their number one player. They all smiled when Troy walked up to the formed line of basketball players. But Sharpay stopped clapping. Guess who the cheerleader on Troy's arm was?

The rest of the gang slowly stopped clapping when they noticed. Some looked over at Sharpay, wondering what her reaction was going to be. Sharpay was wondering herself as she stared blackly at her best friend.

Gabriella looked out into the stands and caught Sharpay's eye. Gabriella's smile made her resemble the devil. She stood on the tips of her toes and planted a big kiss on Troy's cheek, catching him by surprise. Sharpay felt the knife being slowly stabbed into her back.

"I can't do this." she whispered. Without giving her friends a chance to ask her what she even just said, she ran down the steps and through the gym doors.

"Shar?" Troy asked, noticing Sharpay hurry out of the stands.

"Don't worry about her. She's just acting like an immature child." Gabriella said, tugging on Troy's arm.

"I should go after her," Troy said, not paying attention to the brunette.

"Troy, you can't! How will anyone think you care about the game later if you leave in the middle of a pep rally?"

Troy looked at Gabriella, and then back at the doors Sharpay had exited through. Troy knew Gabriella was right. If he left, he'd have to hear coach lecture at him when he came back. Troy sighed and looked up to where the rest of his friends were sitting. They were all squeezing past people, trying to follow and find Sharpay. Chad looked over at Troy, and gave him one of the dirtiest glares Troy had ever seen.

--

Sharpay was speed walking through the empty halls, looking for a teacher-less room. She saw no one in Ms. Darbus' room, so she twisted the knob and walked in. To her surprise though, she wasn't alone.

Zeke was slouched in his normal seat, an unreadable look on his face. It looked like a mix of depression and anger.

"Zeke?" the African American boy looked up, startled to hear the voice of someone else.

"Sharpay, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the pep rally?" Zeke asked in a bitter voice.

"Shouldn't you? You're a player after all." Sharpay inquired.

"What's the point?" Zeke grumbled.

"Well, everyone will cheer for you, you'd have tons of funs with your friends, and you could show Gabriella off to everyone." Sharpay said, trying her hardest to be polite.

"Why would I show off Gabriella?" It wasn't a question.

"She's your girlfriend." It wasn't a statement.

"Not anymore."

Sharpay was at a lost for words. They weren't dating anymore? The two were no longer boyfriend and girlfriend? How could that have happened?

"Oh. I'm sorry." Sharpay said awkwardly.

"No you're not." Zeke sneered, glaring angrily at the innocent girl.

"I am too, Zeke."

"No, you aren't. So quit the BS, Sharpay. I'm not buying it. I know you hated Gabriella. Everyone knew you hated Gabriella."

"Just because I don't like her, doesn't mean I'm not sorry she dumped you." Sharpay defended herself.

"What makes you think she dumped me? Why don't you think I dumped her? Or maybe it was mutual." Zeke asked, jumping out of his seat and nearing the blond girl.

"Because I know you love her. Everyone knows you love her. You would never dump her."

Zeke opened his mouth to retaliate, but then closed it. His expression changed to sad and hurt, as if he were about to cry.

"Why did she leave me? Why doesn't she love me anymore?" Zeke whimpered.

"Well, Zeke, you two have been dating for a long, long time. Maybe she just wanted a little break?" Sharpay suggested.

"Who asked you!" Zeke snapped, rage pulsing through his voice. "I don't give a damn about what you have to say!"

"Whoa, Zeke, calm down." Sharpay warned.

"No! Shut up! You can't tell me what to do! Only Gabriella tells me what to do!"

"Zeke, I'm sorry to break it to you, but you can't live your life with Gabriella always telling you what to do."

"I don't care! Did you hear me? I DON'T CARE." Zeke hollered.

"Zeke, I'm trying to be nice here and help you, but you just aren't letting me!"

"You wanna help me? Then why don't you use that magic of yours and make it so Gabriella never broke up with me! Why don't you use your god damn magic to do that, Evans!"

"Oh yeah! Well-" she froze, realizing what Zeke had just told her.

"Well what!"

"Magic? What did you mean use my magic?" Sharpay asked, so calm it began to freak Zeke out.

"I saw you. I saw you in the parking lot that day after the auditions, and then you pointed at yourself, and then you disappeared. I wasn't seeing things, I know it. You did it. You have freaky magic powers, Evans. And I saw you use them. And I'm going to tell Gabri-"

Before Zeke had a chance to finish his sentence, Sharpay grabbed his hand and snapped her fingers. And just like Zeke had described earlier, he and Sharpay disappeared.

* * *

_…hey guys. Now, before you all begin to throw your tomatoes and cabbage and other rotten vegetables and the occasional rotten fruit at me, let me explain._

_I know, I am so horrible. It's been close to three months since this was updated, and I'm so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry. But I do have actual excuses. You remember my friend Jonathon from my last update, whose mom had just died? And who might have had to leave? Well…he did. And I've known him since the first grade, so saying goodbye was really hard and painful. Many many many tears were shed. And it wasn't too long ago, so we're all still coping._

_Also, I just finished all of my midterms. I had a midterm on American history, grammar, earth science, and French all on one day. It was MURDER, but somehow I managed to pass them all. And just last Wednesday I was given a two hour long algebra one math midterm. And I mean it was like the SATs. Only one out every seven students passes it. Somehow I was one of those ones! YAY! So I had to cram a lot of studying in, plus I had two projects. I was really loaded down._

_I've been working on this update for three months, and though it's not quite long or good, I hate going day after day knowing I'm letting you guys down. But you know what got me to update this chapter? I had just bought a song on iTunes that made me so happy, you guys should all listen to it and thank it. You want know what it is? It's the theme song to…_

_**DUCK TALES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**_

xo Jenna


	10. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

**October 10 (CONTINUED)**

"Aww crap," Zeke mumbled. His head was pounding, he felt nauseous, and he had a sharp pain in one of his feet. And probably worst of all for him, he had no idea where he was or how he got there. But he knew he was no longer in the empty classroom at East High.

Slowly he sat up, one hand clutching his aching head. Eyes dizzy, he blinked a few times to get a good view of his new surroundings. And what he saw was nothing short of…whoa.

Before him stood a tall waterfall, the clearest blue water gracefully falling down into the lake below. On either sides of the waterfall were all sorts of beautiful flowers, all full of diverse colors. The question was, where was he? He couldn't still be in Salem. He had lived there since he was three, and knew the city like the back of his hand. No, this was no where new home. Home couldn't possibly this…amazing.

Forgetting the pain in his foot, Zeke stood up and began to wander. He thought he had seen some animals at the edge of the lake, taking a drink. He also thought he saw a person, and he really wanted to get some information. As he walked closer, he saw that the person who was sitting on a large rock, sadly watching the animals drink, was Sharpay. He had completely forgotten about her.

"Sharpay?" Zeke asked, catching the blond girl by shock. She quickly turned to face him, and her cheeks immediately turned bright red. She took a big gulp and stood up, fully facing Zeke. This had to be sorted now, and Sharpay knew that.

"Yes, Zeke?"

"You have got a lot of explaining to do."

"Yeah, I know."

"…Where are we?" Zeke began. He had a lot to ask.

"It's this secret hideaway I found when I was a little girl. I come here when I just want to be alone or figure some things out." Sharpay explained.

"But, where exactly is this secret hideaway?"

Sharpay lowered her head, "Brazil."

"Brazil?! Pardon my French, Sharpay, but how the fuck did we just get to Brazil so fast? How did you get us here?! Is it those damn powers again?"

Sharpay didn't answer. She knew the answer; she had known her entire life. But it's not like anyone knew. How could she possibly say it now? She raised her head to look at Zeke face to face again. He saw tears welling up in her brown eyes, mixing with fear and terror.

Zeke's expression softened, feeling sorry for how scared Sharpay looked right then, "You really do have powers, don't you?"

Sharpay felt the hot tears slide down her already burning cheeks. She hated how much she cried lately. But…she just couldn't help it.

"I'm…I'm a witch, Zeke. I'm a witch."

--

"Where could she have run off too?" Troy wondered out loud. The pep rally was still going, but he was constantly looking at the gym doors, hoping that Sharpay would come back. But there was no such luck. He was sitting on the bench, while Bret Daniels was giving a speech. Gabriella was sitting by Troy's side, rolling her eyes whenever Troy mentioned his best friend.

"Troy, it's not good to keep doing this. You can see her after the pep rally." Gabriella commented.

"But who knows where she'll be by then! I should go now." Troy began to stand up, but couldn't when Gabriella grabbed his arm and harshly pulled him back down.

"Troy, I told you, Coach Simpson will kill you if you leave."

"No one will notice. I never get to play anyway." Troy said.

"But…your friends! They already left to go after her! I'm sure they're all sharing a caring, happy Sesame Street moment right now."

"But-"

"Troy, did you ever think that maybe Sharpay is always being moody and sad because of you?"

Troy's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Everyone can tell. Even I admit, Sharpay is always a really happy person. But lately, she's been different. She looks sad, she's always running away, and she's testy. And…she doesn't smile as much as she used too."

"So what are you trying to say, Gabriella?"

"I'm saying that…it could be because of you. You might have said something, or done something that really upset her, I have no idea. All I know is that she's not the same Sharpay she once was. Maybe…you should spend some time apart from her." Gabriella suggested.

"Apart? You mean, just ignore the girl who's been my best friends since pre-k?"

"No, just…spend more time with other people. It will either tell Sharpay that you weren't the problem, or…that you two both liked the time away from each other."

"Well, as much as you want me to ditch my best friend, it ain't gonna happen. Later, Montez." Troy said. He stood up and ran across the gym to the locker room door to chance.

"Troy! Get back here!" Gabriella called. But Troy just kept her back to her.

--

"Did you see which way she went?"

"Yeah, Jason. She told me where she was going to suddenly run off to in the middle of Troy's pep rally. I know as much as you do. Of course I don't know which way she went!"

"No need to snap, Kels."

"I'm sorry, I happen to be worried about one of my best friends!"

"Oh, and you're saying I'm not?"

"Will the two of you shut up?" Taylor said, silencing the two bickering friends. "We all don't know where Sharpay ran off to, and we all want to know. And we'll find out sooner if we just keep our cool. Now, I think we should split up."

"What is this, Scooby-Doo?" Ryan asked sarcastically.

"Ryan, zip it. Taylor's right. We should split up and look for Sharpay at places we know she could be at." Chad explained.

"Right. Now, Ryan and Kelsi, you guys go to Sharpay's house. Jason, you go to the mall. And Chad and I will go to the old playground."

"Naww, you should go with Jason, Tay. I'll stay here and look to see if she's still at school. Then me and Troy can look at the playground."

"Oh, okay," Taylor said, disappointment visible to the naked eye. "Yeah, that makes more sense."

"Okay, and if one of us finds her, we'll all meet up at my house." Jason said, his friends nodding in agreement. Kelsi and Ryan ran out of the front doors first, then Jason, and finally Taylor, who took one sad look at her crush. _I knew he'd never want to be with me_ she thought before she too went on the hunt.

Chad waited until he knew his friends couldn't see him before he stormed off towards the locker rooms. He was on a hunt as well, but not for Sharpay. He was on a hunt for the person who was Sharpay's supposed best friends for life.

--

"And ever since then I've known I was a witch."

"Wow." Zeke breathed out. Sharpay had just given him the full, long explanation on her magical powers.

"I know it doesn't seem scientifically possible, but it is. This is all real and true. Do you believe me, Zeke?" Sharpay asked.

"Well, normally, I wouldn't. But, I did see you disappear right in front of me, and you just magically transported us here – which by the way was not a fun experience."

"Yeah, you get used to that after a while. By the twentieth try I finally learned to land on my feet." Sharpay commented.

"Yeah. So…I guess I have to believe you. I can't not believe you after all I've seen. But, can you answer me something?"

"Sure."

"How come I'm the first person to know?" Zeke asked.

"Well, because you saw me use my magic. And, you really can't tell Gabriella. It would ruin me. And if you saw, you deserve an explanation." Sharpay explained.

"Yeah, I see that. But…why don't your friends know? Why doesn't Troy know you're a witch?"

--

Troy closed his locker, having just changed out of his uniform. He was planning on going to try to find Sharpay and find out what was wrong with her. But he knew it wasn't him. Gabriella was not right. Troy was always the one person who could make Sharpay happy, and he knew that. With the relationship they had, one could never upset the other like this. It just wasn't possible.

He turned around, ready to leave when he saw Chad standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hey Chad." Out of the blue, Chad slammed Troy into the lockers.

"What the hell, man!" Troy yelled. Chad was never this aggressive, especially with him.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Chad asked angrily.

"What?"

"Who do you think you are to do this?" Chad asked again.

"Do what, Chad? What the hell are you talking about?" Troy asked, completely lost.

"Sharpay's my friend, Troy, and I happen to care about her."

"Are you saying I don't?" Troy asked, trying to figure out what wall was going on.

"Well I'm sure not saying you do." Chad shot.

"Hey! Don't ever say I don't care about Sharpay. She means more to me than she ever will to you. And what makes you think you can say something like that?" Troy asked seriously.

"What makes _you_ think that you can like the daughter of Satan!" Chad retorted.

"Chad, what are you freaking _talking_ about?!" Troy asked

Chad didn't respond. He knew that yelling at Troy would never give him an answer. He'd have to be calm about it. As much as he didn't want to, he had to. "Why do you want to date Gabriella, Troy? Why do you like her?" he asked in a low, quiet voice.

Troy knitted his eyebrows together. "Where did you hear that?"

"Sharpay. I found her at the playground the other day, crying her eyes out because her best friend liked the one person she hated most."

Troy's expression softened. "Sharpay was crying?"

"Of course she was crying, you asshole! Why wouldn't she cry?" Chad spat.

"She said she was okay about it," Troy remembered aloud, not hearing what Chad was saying. "She said if it would make me happy, I could. She said she'd be fine."

"Troy, are you mentally retarded?" Chad asked honestly. "Of course she would say that! Of course she'd say she was fine and okay about it!"

"Why? We've always been honest with each other. We've never kept something from each other. Why?"

"Troy, Sharpay is your best friend. And you're her best friend. No, best friend doesn't even come close to describing you two. How about soul mates? That seems good. Anyway, Sharpay cares about you more than anyone else in the world. She lives to see you happy – it kills her to see you not. And if Gabriella, the one person in the entire world Sharpay loathes, would make you happy, do you really think she'd say no?"

Troy frowned. "You know, Chad, maybe next time before you go accusing people of the worst, you should hear what they have to say."

"Personally, I'd rather not hear all the bull you wanted to give-"

"Well too bad, because I'm gonna tell you anyway. I don't plan on asking out Gabriella until I fix things with Sharpay. Because even though that hair isn't letting oxygen to your brain, and you can't function like a normal person, Sharpay means the world to me. And you can never, **ever**, say she doesn't. "

And with that, Troy stormed out of the locker room, leaving a fuming Chad behind.

--

"Sharpay, you have to tell Troy."

"I can't, Zeke. Don't you understand? I just can't."

"Why not?" Zeke and Sharpay were still in their own little world sitting upon rocks the overlooked the calmness and serenity of the area they were in.

"I don't think he can handle it." Sharpay said, bringing her knees close to her chest.

"Can't handle it, how?" Zeke asked curiously.

"I don't think Troy could handle any of it. I mean, knowing that the girl he's been friends with since he was a little kid is a witch? Knowing that the girl who's like a sister to him has these strange magic powers? It would ruin our friendship. Troy would never be able to look at me without thinking that I'm some freaky mutant person. And then he'd defiantly pick Gabriella over me. Everyone would."

"What do you mean he'd pick Gabriella?" Zeke asked once hearing the mention on his former girlfriend.

"Zeke…I'm sorry, but…Gabriella likes Troy."

"Yeah…I know." Zeke sighed.

"And…Troy might like Gabriella back." Sharpay confessed. Zeke snapped to attention. He studied the blond girl, noticing how the mention of this topic changed her. It was like she was a lamp, and the light bulb burned out.

"Sharpay? Do you like Troy?" Zeke asked.

"No…" Sharpay said, shaking her head. "…I _love_ Troy."

* * *

_There you go, another chapter. And look how much quicker I updated! I'm sooo proud! Hope you liked the Zekepayness going on. There will be a lot more of that, but with surprises added in. And I've never done Zekepay, so take it easy on me. _

_No real author's notes to give…well, maybe one. It really has nothing to do with this though. _

_On February 24 I get my braces off! I've had them since April of 2006, and they're finally coming off! And that happens to be three days before the JONAS BROTHERS 3D CONCERT MOVIE!!! Serena, you and me will have a lot of screaming to do. Peace_

xo Jenna


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

**October 10 (CONTINUED)**

"Come on, Pay…pick up." Troy muttered to himself as the phone rang. He had been trying to call Sharpay a million times, but she never answered. The phone continued to beep, until he heard the familiar voice recite the annoyingly familiar lines.

"_Hey, it's Sharpay! Sorry I missed you, but leave a message at the beep and I'll get back to you! Thanks_!"

"Hey, Sharpay, it's Troy…again. Look, can you call me back? Please? The gang's looking everywhere for you, but I wanna talk to you alone. I wanna know if you ran off because of Gabriella, because if you did I want you to know that I don't-" the dial cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

"-Like her." He sighed. He clicked the end button on his phone and let out another deep sigh. He was sitting in an old treehouse that didn't look like it could hold a bunch of teenagers. But this treehouse wasn't meant for him and his friends. It was meant for only Sharpay and him. Their fathers had built it just for them when they were eight. Troy always thought it was their secret hideaway, so whenever he was in a mood and just wanted to be with Sharpay, they had a spot to call their own. He felt guilty not telling his other friends about it, but he believed that some things should just stay secret.

He looked around the walls of the wooden clubhouse, which were covered with photos and drawings the two pals had collected over the years. He chuckled with each old memory, remembering how he always found a way to smile in here. He reached one picture that stopped the chuckling, though. It wasn't that it was a bad picture or anything. It was just one that had always made him stop and think each time he looked at it.

He pealed the old Kodak moment from the wall and brought it close to his face. This photo always gave him a thick wave of guilt when he looked at it, remembering its events. Because this was the event when Troy had to pick which girl to like: Gabriella or Sharpay.

**-flashback-**

It was two years ago, at Martha Cox's sweet sixteen. The whole school was basically invited, explaining why the party room was packed. Once word got out that it was going to be unchaperoned, the cheerleaders thought it would be a great time to play seven minutes in heaven.

Troy and Sharpay didn't want to play, though. Troy was somewhat shy being alone with girls who he didn't really know, and Sharpay didn't want to make out with some random guy…unless, of course, it was Joe Jonas.

"Aww come on, Choy!" Bret Daniel's slurred. Someone had obviously spiked whatever was in the boy's plastic red cup. Or maybe he did it all on his own. Who knew?

"It's Troy." Troy corrected icily.

"Whateverr. Come on, maan! J-just do it. You can be locked up in a room with hawt chickss!" _Wow, alcohol really messed up this guy's speech_, Sharpay thought, her face frowning at the looks Bret was giving her.

"No thanks, Bret. Now can you leave us alone?"

"No, y-you gotta…if you wanna make the team." Bret smirked. He knew Troy desperately wanted to join the basketball team, and would do whatever it took to make the cut. But he really just wanted to see Troy's reaction when he was sent to the closet.

"I have to play this to make the team?" Troy questioned in disbelief.

"Yup yup yup!" Bret smiled with a goofy grin.

Troy looked over at Sharpay for her answer. She placed her hand delicately on his and nodded. He knew how much basketball meant to Troy. And besides, how bad was seven minutes in a tiny dark closet? It's not like it would make her jealous or anything.

Troy muttered a "Fine," before standing up and joining the group of drunken teens.

"Heyy, Chris! We got anotheer one!" Bret called out. A tall boy with spiky black hair, who Troy presumed to be Chris, walked over to Troy and Bret. He held out to Troy a baseball cap that was filled with small slips of paper.

"Pick one," Chris laughed. Troy remembered that when you came into the party, you had to write your name on a small slip of paper and hand it in. he thought it was just a way to sign everyone in or something. Anyone's name out be in there. Even a dude's!

"Pick, Sloy!" Bret slurred again, alcohol making it hard to even remember Troy's simple name. Shutting his eyes tight, Troy stuck a hand into the hat. His hand fished around for a few seconds, until he pulled a name out. Slowly, he opened the piece of paper.

But before he could see the name, another slip of paper fell out. It had been stuck in the one he picked.

"I got two," Troy said to Chris and Bret.

"Weell then pick one, dummyy," Bret said as if it were obvious.

Troy rolled his eyes at Bret's comment and looked at the two slips of paper. They were both open, and both names were clear and visible.

_Gabriella Montez  
Sharpay Evans_

"Oh no," Troy muttered.

"Well, which is it?" Chris asked, his voice much more clear than Bret's. Troy looked behind his shoulder at Sharpay, who was still sitting on the couch he had left her at. She was watching him, a curious – and now confused – expression taking over her facial features.

He then looked around the crowd of players, and saw Gabriella. She was wearing a very small dress, its color redder than any red M&M. she caught Troy's look, and smiled a sexy little smile back at him.

Troy took in a gulp, his face feeling hot and his pants feeling much tighter than they did a second ago. He looked back down at his slips of paper, Sharpay in his right hand and Gabriella in his left. He had to choose right now, which girl he wanted: Sharpay, or Gabriella.

…

"Gabriella Montez?"

Hoots and whistlers were being shouted by the crowd. Bret and Chris patted Troy on the back, before pushing him to the closet door. Gabriella walked over to him, her six inch heals clacking with each step she took.

"Ready?" she asked him. Jeez, by the end of the night he was sure if he'd be able to get out of his pants. Troy could only nod, his voice too dry to speak.

Gabriella smiled again and opened the door, walking in first. Before he joined, though, Troy looked back at Sharpay. She was staring at him, a blank expression on her face. Even though she hadn't been close enough to hear the situation he had been in, Troy felt like she knew. Troy had a feeling that Sharpay knew that he had picked Gabriella over her. But Troy turned his back on her and walked into the closet, shutting the door behind him.

"There you are, sexy." Gabriella giggled. It was too dark for Troy to see where she was. "What took you so long?"

"Um, nothing." Troy lied. Suddenly, he felt Gabriella's arms snaking around his neck. "Look, Gabriella, you really don't have too."

"But…I want to." Gabriella said innocently.

"But you're with Zeke." Troy said, his voice unconfident.

"What Zeke doesn't know…won't hurt him." Gabriella whispered. Troy could feel her breath instantly hit his lips. And before he could respond, Gabriella's lips were crashed onto his, and she was pressing her body against him. A strange feeling went through his stomach. Gabriella was the enemy – she always had since before he could remember. Then why did their kiss feel so…fantastic?

Just as quickly as her lips had came, the disappeared. The closet light suddenly was on, and Troy could see that Gabriella was the one who did it. Her arms left his neck, and she stepped a few inches away from him.

"Do you want me Troy?" Gabriella asked, that smirk still play across her plump lips.

"I-I, um, I-" before he could say a complete sentence, she reached behind her back. Slowly, she pulled the zipper of her dress down, and raised her arms, causing the expensive red material to fall to the ground. This left her in merely a pink push-up and matching thong.

"Seven minutes is plenty of time."

--

Six and a half minutes later, Gabriella and Troy immerged. Gabriella gave Troy a peck on the cheek, and then walked back off with her friends. Troy nodded and then walked back to the couch he had left Sharpay at. But when he got there, she wasn't around.

"Sharpay?"

His phone began to vibrate, telling him he got a new text message. He pulled the phone out and read the note.

_Troy – had to be home if I needed to make my curfew. Chad and Jason are still here if you need a ride. XX – Pay_

Troy sighed, feeling a pang of guilt for leaving her. He slid his phone back into his pocket. Maybe he should find his other friends and leave…

"Heeyyyy man, how was it?" Bret said as he and Chris walked up to Troy.

"Oh, you know, same old, same old."

"Dude, that was Gabriella Montez. She's taken, but she'll still do it with someone who's worthy. So, how far did you get?" Chris asked.

Troy bit his bottom lip. Should he tell them? These guys weren't exactly his friends. But then again, any of his real friends probably wouldn't want to hear of his recent activities. And he was dying to scream it out.

Slowly, out of the pocket from his jacket, he pulled out Gabriella's pink push-up bra. "Third base, fellas."

Chris and Bret cheered, high fiving Troy.

"You are defiantly on the team my friend." Chris said.

Troy smiled graciously, but then walked away. He was still feeling guilty. Those seven minutes with Gabriella were…**_wow_**. And in the closet, Gabriella admitted that she had been crushing on Troy for a long time. Gabriella Montez, one of the most popular cheerleaders East High ever had. But Troy couldn't help but wonder about Sharpay. What if he had picked her? Would she even have gone in with him? Probably, Troy was the person she felt safest with, after all. But now, Troy felt different. He was sure Sharpay would still feel safest with him.

Sharpay could never know about this. **_Never._**

**-end-**

Troy sighed again as the memory ended. He was still holding the picture. Someone took a picture of him when he was picking the name, or should he say names, from the cap. The person who took it put it up on Facebook and emailed it to him. He could see Gabriella in the background. She was sitting on Zeke's lap. Troy never knew Zeke was in the room at the time. If he had known…

Zeke was the thing about Gabriella that Troy didn't understand. They had been dating since they were what, five? And Zeke really loved Gabriella. But she always seemed to be crushing on someone else, or going on dates with someone else, or even going farther than Troy had with someone else. And Zeke would never mind, and stay with her each time. Troy didn't understand how he could do that. Troy would never tolerate it. But maybe Zeke was just so desperate to be with his dream girl that he wouldn't mind if other guys got with her at the same time.

Troy put the picture back on the wall – never quite sure why it was up there in the first place. He looked at his phone again. No new voice messages, no new text messages. He leaned his head against the wooden wall and looked out the small window.

"Where are you, Pay?"

--

"We should be getting back, Sharpay." Zeke said.

"Yeah, you're right. It's probably getting late." Sharpay began to stand up, when Zeke's hand grabbed her arms and stopped her.

"But before we go," Zeke interrupted. "We have to make a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"You have to promise me that you'll tell Troy about your secret. It's not fair for him to not know." Sharpay thought it over. She knew he was right, but it was so hard…

"Ok, how about this? When we go back, I'll find Troy, and if he can go an hour without mentioning Gabriella, I'll tell him."

"I can live with that." Zeke agreed.

"And you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone my secret, AND you have to show Gabriella that she can't step all over you."

"But, what if I don't mind it?" Zeke asked.

"She'll have a lot more respect for you if you let her know, Zeke." Sharpay said sternly.

"Ok…deal."

"Oh, and uh, one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Since you now know the biggest secret in all of Salem, and it happens to be mine, do you think we can try to be friends?" Sharpay asked.

Zeke smiled. "I think I'd like that."

"Okay, let's get out of here." Sharpay smiled and stood up, her hands outstretched to hold Zeke's.

"Will I be in less pain this time?" Zeke asked warily.

"Oh yeah…if you count vomiting and sprains as being in less pain."

"Yippy skippy."

--

Sharpay was walking down her street, on her way to bed, when someone pulled her aside behind another house.

"Hey!!" Sharpay squealed.

"Oh shut it, Blondie." A familiar voice said. Sharpay looked up and saw that it was Gabriella.

"What do you think your doing?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Gabriella retorted.

"What are you talking about?"

"What makes you think you own Troy?" Gabriella asked, demanding an answer.

"I don't think I own Troy."

"Oh, I think you do. If you didn't, why else would you always do things you know would get his attention?"

"Gabriella, you aren't making any sense."

"Why did you run out of the gym during the pep rally? You really suck when it comes to jealousy. You just can't ever stand when Troy picks me over you. You never have been able to. But when you left, you were all Troy thought about the whole game. And you know what? Pretty soon, he left. He ditched the game, and trust me, Coach Simpson won't be too damn happy next time he sees Troy. Face it, Evans. Troy wants me, not you. You won't ever be anything to him. EVER."

Sharpay looked down at her shoes, hoping Gabriella wouldn't notice how her eyes were suddenly red and stinging.

"You're right." Sharpay mumbled.

"…What?"

"I said you're right, Gabriella. I'm never going to anything to him, so that's why I'm not going to try. But you have that chance without even trying. He won't admit it, but I'm sure Troy likes you. But…Troy does mean something to me. I am his friend. Which is why, I think…"

"Thank what? Spit it out, Evans!"

"I think that we should be friends."

* * *

_Sorry, I love giving you guys mega twists and cliffhangers. Aren't I just evil? Please review!! I'm trying to do better on my updating for you guys!!_

_xo Jenna_


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

**October 10****th**

"Repeat?" Gabriella demanded. She must have heard wrong. She thought Sharpay said they should be friends. And that could **not** be what Sharpay Evans had just suggested.

"Look, it was hard enough to gag out the first time, don't make me do it again."

"You are not serious, Blondie. We cannot be friends for one perfectly good reason."

"And what's that?" Sharpay asked.

"I hate you!"

"Besides that." Gabriella rolled her eyes and began to walk away. But Sharpay grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Look, I'm Troy's friend. And soon, odds are, you'll be Troy's girlfriend. And if we're constantly fighting, one of us might lose him." Sharpay explained.

"Good. Let it be you." Gabriella offered.

"No. It's either both of us, or neither of us. And Troy wants both of us." Sharpay could see, based Gabriella's constant rolling of her eyes that she still hadn't gotten through.

"Gabriella, you like Troy, right?" Sharpay asked seriously.

_No._ "Yes."

"And you want him to be happy, right?"

_No, I want to be happy._ "Yes."

"Then this is really the only solution." Sharpay stuck her hand out, waiting to confirm the new…_friendship_ (this was not going to be easy to explain to the rest of her friends).

Gabriella looked down at the blond girl's hand. "One condition."

"What?"

"We only pretend to be friends. Otherwise I can go back to hating you."

"Whatever. Deal." Sharpay agreed. Gabriella daintily took one of Sharpay's fingers and shook it. Sharpay guessed that's Gabriella's version of a handshake. This was going to be a painful, painful friendship.

--

**October 11****th**

The leaves crumbled under Sharpay's shoes as she walked down the sidewalk. She always took walks around town early on Saturday mornings, but that wasn't her purpose today. Today, she was looking for Troy.

Yesterday evening when she and Zeke returned, she had just checked her phone to find multiple text and voice messages from all of her friends, asking where the heck she was. She hadn't answered any of them yet, though. She was planning too, but right now, she needed to find Troy. Fixing this issue with him was her highest priority.

The only problem? She had walked around town five times, and still no sign of her best friend.

"Where the heck could he be?" Sharpay mumbled to herself. She mentally kicked herself for not knowing a spell that could find people.

_Okay okay, pretend that you're Troy, and you ditched your pep rally to find your best friend, after getting a kiss from the girl who has bullied you and your friends for your entire lives but who you also may possibly like…where would I be?_

"…Wait…of course!" Sharpay realized aloud, and began to run down streets and turn corners until she finally made it to Troy's backyard. She walked over to a tall tree, and began climbing up the built-in ladder. When she finally reached the entrance to the clubhouse, what did she see?

Troy snoring like a foghorn. Sharpay couldn't help but smile at the image before her. She climbed into the treehouse and sat in front of Troy, watching him sleep peacefully for a few minutes.

He was beautiful when he slept. And yes, Sharpay knew that no guy thinks that them being beautiful is a compliment, but it really is. He wasn't being cute, or hot, or sexy, or handsome at the moment. He was being himself, and being natural. The way his chest slowly raised and fell with each breath he took; the way his eyes would occasionally flutter, but no open; the way his lips were slightly parted; and the way his nostrils flared ever now and then. Even his snoring was beautiful.

But Sharpay wanted to stop feeling like Chad stalking Hannah Montana, so she decided to wake the sandy haired boy up. But who ever said she had to be nice about it?

She scooted up to his side, and closely leaned in next to his ear. "Hey sexy," she whispered. Troy stirred in his sleep as a response.

"You're looking so hot, Troy." Sharpay whispered again.

"Mmm thank you," Troy whispered back, probably thinking that he was dreaming.

"You get me **so** hot and bothered, Troy," Sharpay said, a huge smile spreading across her cheeks.

"You turn me on too, baby."

"Oh yeah? I turn you on? How much?" Sharpay said, playing along with Troy's little fantasy.

"I wanna do so many bad things to you."

"Tell me about them." Sharpay had to bit her cheeks now to keep from laughing.

"Not here, baby."

"Well then, how about at my place?" Sharpay asked seductively. Troy turned to her in his sleep, a lustful smile planted on his face.

"You think you're ready for me, babe?"

"I think the real question is are you ready for _me_."

"Oh, I think I can handle you, Sharpay." Troy answered back. Sharpay lost her smile and need to laugh. Wait, did he just say her name? As in he thought she really was in this conversation? No, no, maybe he was just joking with her. Yeah, he was awake, and new she was trying to mess with him, and he was messing with her back. Yeah, that had to be it. Troy couldn't really be having a…_dirty_ dream about her…could he? Sharpay was pretty sure it was time for Troy to really wake up.

"Troy…Troy-Boy, time to wake up." Sharpay said, shaking Troy's shoulder lightly. A few moments later, Troy's eyes fluttered open, taking in the sunlight of the morning. He stretched a little before realizing Sharpay was sitting right next to him.

"Sharpay!" Troy exclaimed, immediately pouncing on his best friend and holding her in a tight embrace.

"Wow, someone's sure happy to see me." Sharpay giggled.

"Oh you have no ideal, Shar. Where were you!? Everyone's been looking for you since yesterday. Where did you go? Why did you even leave? When did you come back? When did you come -"

"Whoa, easy there, boy. One question at a time. I was just…clearing my mind out yesterday." Sharpay cut him off.

"Where?" Troy asked.

"…You know, just around. Sorry, I just saw your messages this morning. I uh…didn't get reception where I was."

"Shar, why did you even leave?" Troy asked. Oh, how could she lie to him? With those big, beautiful blue eyes. He was her best friend, and they never kept secrets from each other (excluding the whole "witch" secret, of course).

"I didn't…I didn't like seeing you and Gabriella…together. And I know she's your special girl or whatever but…it's just going to be hard for me, you know?"

Troy looked Sharpay dead in her lively brown eyes. He knew that his dating Gabriella would be hard for her. But Troy never wanted anything to be hard for Sharpay to get used to or unpleasant for her.

"I think that for now, the only special girl in my life should be you…and Ellie…and my mom." Troy confessed sincerely.

"Troy, you're seventeen. Do you really want to spend your senior year single?"

"If it means keeping you? Yeah, I do. Besides, I could never date a girl who you weren't friends with."

Sharpay took in a deep breath. "But, what if Gabriella and I…were friends?"

Troy stared at her for a while, contemplating what his best friend just said. Then an eerie smile appeared on his face.

"Troy?"

Troy then began to laugh hysterically. Sharpay watched him, not entirely sure what she said that was humorous. But Troy just continued laughing that same laugh.

"Troy, why are you laughing?" Sharpay asked seriously.

"You? Gabriella?" Troy said between fits of laughter, "FRIENDS?! That's the funniest thing you've ever told me!"

Sharpay frowned at the boy as he continued to cackle. "Troy, I'm not kidding." With the seriousness of her tone, Troy controlled his giggles.

"You can't be serious," Troy said. But from the look in her eyes, Troy could tell she was.

"Why would you ever be friends with Gabriella? You hate each other."

"But I love you…uh, you know, like the brother I never got. You mean everything to me, Troy. And I would do anything for you."

"Even if that meant being friends with Gabriella?" Troy asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Even that." Sharpay waited in an awkward silence for Troy to respond. But finally, he reached over and hugged her tightly.

"You are one strange girl, Sharpay Evans. Maybe that's why you're my best friend." he whispered into her ear, sending shivers down Sharpay's spine.

Sharpay didn't want the hug to end. In Troy's strong arms was where she felt safest. It was hard to explain, but hugging Troy just…felt right. Her body just fit his. Oh well, maybe it was just her imagination. But she knew that his arms would always be there for her when she needed them.

Troy pulled away. "I'm really tired of drama. Do you think we can just have a fun day together?" he asked.

"Sure. Want me to call the guys?" Sharpay asked, already pulling her cell phone out of her jeans' pocket.

"Actually," Troy said, making Sharpay stop going through her contacts list to look at him, "I was kinda hoping it could be just…you know, you and me. If that's okay, I mean."

Sharpay smiled at Troy, slid her phone back into her pocket, and kissed his cheek.

"That's perfect." She said, causing Troy to smile in return. They both climbed out of the treehouse and began walking down Troy's lawn. Troy protectively had his arm over Sharpay's shoulders, hoping that in a weird way it would keep her from disappearing again.

"So, Sharpie, what do you want to do on the National Troy and Sharpay are Best Friends Day?" Troy asked.

"National Troy and Sharpay are Best Friends Day?" Sharpay asked. Troy could be the corniest guy in the world sometimes. But she couldn't help but love that about him.

"Has a ring to it, don't ya think?"

"Actually, it kind of does. And, how about we go into your house and make our favorite snack." Sharpay smiled, leaning her head on Troy's shoulder.

"You don't mean -"

"- Oh yeah, I do."

"But we haven't had since we were in like, middle school."

"All the more reason to make them now."

"Wow…wait we're both talking about the same thing, right?"

"I don't know. Are we?"

"Chicken nugget sandwiches?"

"Chicken nugget sandwiches."

--

"…And then Chad's in a blonde wig singing _The Climb_." Troy said, finishing his story as he took another bite of his sandwich.

"I really worry about that boy. I even lose sleep thinking of what could be wrong with him." Sharpay said while chewing a bite of her own sandwich.

"Tell me about it. But, he's made it through seventeen years in society somewhat normally, so I don't worry that much. All I worry about is if that puff ball on his head is going to come back to life."

"You are one strange boy, Troy Bolton. But you introduced me to chicken nugget sandwiches, so you're off the hook."

"Thank you. So, are they as good as you remember?"

"Yes! Seriously, we should sell this recipe to some restaurant for big bucks. We'd be millionaires by the time we graduate! And then you can buy an entire basketball team, and I can buy Joe Jonas, and he and I can get all hot and steamy one night and-"

"Sharpay if you end up having your hot and sexy honeymoon with Joe Jonas then I'm going to give you my money from selling chicken nugget sandwiches. So until that day I don't need to know your…_fantasies_." Troy interrupted. Oh, he had to use that word. Should she? Should Sharpay be cruel and evil, or should she be a good friend and let what she heard earlier slide?

If you thought it'd be the second one, you obviously don't know Sharpay Evans.

"Speaking of _fantasies_, I heard you had one of your very own, Troy-Boy." Sharpay said coyly. She smiled evilly when she saw Troy's cheeks turn crimson.

"What are you talking about, Sharpay?" Troy asked, praying to God he hadn't been talking in his sleep this morning.

"Don't you remember? Here, let me remind you," Sharpay said. She put her sandwich down, and walked over to Troy, who was sitting in a chair at the kitchen table. Sharpay sat on his lap and whispered in his ear, "You get me **so** hot and bothered, Troy."

Was it just Troy, or was the air in the room suddenly very hot and very thick? And why were his jeans…tighter? Oh Lord. She had heard him.

"Uh…" Troy has no idea how to respond.

"It's okay Troysie. I promise I won't mention it to anyone else…on one condition." Sharpay giggles.

"Anything." Troy immediately agrees.

"Tell me, was it good?" It took Troy a moment to figure out what she meant. But the look in her eyes made it pretty obvious. Oh boy. How was he supposed to answer? Honestly? Or with a lie? Or does every girl just want to know if they were "good?"

All Troy could manage was a nod. Thankfully, it was all Sharpay needed.

"Cool. Thanks for being honest, Troysie." She said, kissing his cheek. She got up off his lap and went back to her seat across from him at the table. "So, what to you wanna do now?"

"Um, well, before we plan anything else, do you mind if I change? I've, uh, been these clothes since yesterday afternoon." Troy asked sheepishly.

"Totally. I'll be down here, thinking of how hot Joe Jonas is." Sharpay smiled.

"Glad to see that can always occupy your time. I'll just be a couple minutes." Troy said, heading for the stairs.

_Nice move, Evans! "Tell me, was it good?" "Cool. Thanks for being honest, Troysie." Could you be anymore of a perv! Geez, you sounded like Chad! Just drop the subject, Sharpay! Drop it!_

Sharpay couldn't believe she had actually said those things. How was she supposed to face Troy now? Oh yeah, because he was the most forgiving and sweetest guy she had ever met.

She smiled as she forgot her embarrassment. Troy could do that to her. She could be feeling like total crap one minute, and then a princess the next. Troy just made her happy, no matter what. But why?

Because he cared about her. And she knew it. She knew no matter who he dated, he'd still care about her more than most best friends do. She knew that nothing would change between them, because what they had was too good to lose. Troy would always be the over-protective, silly, adorable, sometimes annoying, chicken nugget sandwich making best friend.

_

* * *

_

I'm not even going to try to give you guys an excuse for my crappy updating, because I don't have one. My life was busy. I had state-wide testing, projects, drama rehearsals everyday until 6, day performances, trips, finals, end of the year junk, graduation, and camp. And honestly, I think I was being super bitchy, not even letting you guys know why. So if you have lost all faith in me, I completely understand. Heck, I encourage it. But I will continue updating. And if I know I won't be able to for some time, I'll let you guys know. But I can never apologize enough to you guys, because you mean everything to me.

And if you care (which you probably don't) I've posted a link to the poster for this story. Sorry it isn't fantastic – I had a time constraint.

Thanks, and sorry again you guys.

-Jenna/ZashleySilver

PS - Chicken nugget sandwiches are awesome. I highly recommend them. =]


	13. BIRTHDAY UPDATE

Heyyyy everyone!!!! Sorry for my horribly crappy updating. I was on an unexpected vacation. And I really wanted to update today, but I can't due to what today is. And I have orientation for 9th grade on Monday, so updates will be crappier than usual (as if it could be any crappier)

But I can't update because today is

**MY 14TH BIRHTDAY**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope I can update soon –

- Jenna/ZashleySilver


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